With a week left before Sochi votes for a mayor, the city's election committee on Friday removed wealthy businessman Alexander Lebedev from the ballot over alleged mistakes in his application to run. On Saturday, the committee removed A Just Russia's candidate, Viktor Kurpitko, for the same reason.
That leaves only six candidates -- including United Russia's candidate, acting Sochi Mayor Anatoly Pakhomov, and Kremlin critic Boris Nemtsov -- out of the initial 25 contenders for the April 26 election.
Nemtsov told The Moscow Times on Sunday that thousands of people are being pressured to vote for Pakhomov in early voting or risk losing their jobs.
Similar tactics were used to collect votes for United Russia during the 2007 State Duma elections.
"The matter is not in the number of candidates left but that the authorities are holding the elections amid total fraud and censorship," said Nemtsov, leader of the Solidarity movement.
"But these elections are being closely watched by the whole world," he added.
Lebedev has accused the authorities of edging them out to ensure Pakhomov's victory, and he said in an interview published Sunday in Germany's Welt am Sonntag that his Sochi bid might be connected to the grounding of his Blue Wings airline.
Germany's aviation authority said March 31 that it had canceled Dusseldorf-based Blue Wings' license over unspecified "business problems."
Lebedev said he would appeal to the Supreme Court. "We are going to appeal for the decision to be voided by the Supreme Court, and then we'll seek to cancel the election results," Lebedev wrote on his LiveJournal blog.
Sochi election committee spokeswoman Valentina Tkachyova told The Moscow Times on Friday that the committee's decision to strike Lebedev from the ballot was based on a ruling by Sochi's Central District Court on April 13 that Lebedev had failed to properly fill out his registration paperwork. Tkachyova refused to elaborate or provide a copy of the committee's decision.
Kurpitko was struck from the ballots Saturday, and he vowed to appeal, Interfax reported. The complaints against Lebedev and Kurpitko were filed by one of the remaining candidates, local businessman Vladimir Trukhanovsky.
Early voting started Wednesday, and votes cast for the removed candidates will be voided, election officials said.
Natalya Krainova contributed to this report.
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
Remind me later.