Yabloko and PARNAS to have separate lists at elections, unified party impossible for technical, political reasons – Yavlinsky

MOSCOW. March 4 (Interfax) – The Yabloko party founder, Grigory Yavlinsky, believes it is impossible to establish a unified PARNAS-Yabloko party, and the most likely option is to hold talks on separating candidates in single-seat election districts, but, at the same time, keeping two party lists.

“We will do all that is possible and necessary. Negotiations are under way today,” Yavlinsky told Interfax after being asked about forms of cooperation between Yabloko and PARNAS.

The party formulated its coalition proposals back in January, he said.

For her part, Yabloko chairperson Emilia Slabunova said earlier there was a need to decide whether PARNAS members were actually ready to quit PARNAS and join Yabloko.

“They say that they are not ready. They say: let’s make a unified party. But it is technically impossible to do so within a three-month period, and it is impossible from a political standpoint. It is impossible! Consequently, Yabloko and PARNAS will nominate two separate lists at the elections,” Yavlinsky said.

In this case, the party is ready to agree to separate the candidates in single-seat election districts in order to avoid rivalry between them, as well as not to engage in mutual criticism during the election campaign and jointly monitor the elections, he said.

“It would be good if Alexei Navalny supported us, but he is still in PARNAS. It was his own decision. He has some program of his own. He has made his decision to be with Kasyanov. They did not perform very well in Kostroma (PARNAS received 2.28% of the vote at last year’s elections to the Kostroma region’s legislature],” Yavlinsky said.