Independent Russian Election Watchdog To Create Replacement Despite Suspension

(RIA Novosti – Moscow, June 26, 2013) The suspension by the Justice Ministry of the operation of the Golos (Voice, or Vote) association will not prevent its leaders from registering a new and similar organization; moreover, Golos has recently launched the winding-up procedure, deputy executive director of the association Grigoriy Melkonyants has told RIA Novosti. The Justice Ministry has suspended the operation of Golos for six months after it failed to register as a foreign agent (under a controversial new law).

“I learnt about this decision a week ago. These actions by the Justice Ministry are predictable. This does not in any way restrict us in setting up a new organization. We are setting up, among other things, a public association without registration, which is going to be involved in organizing and monitoring elections,” Melkonyants told RIA Novosti. (Privately-owned Russian news agency Interfax quoted him saying that Golos leaders would also try to register a new NGO.)

He pointed out that the Golos association had earlier launched the winding-up procedure and “it is no longer active”.

“For us, this suspension is symbolic, because the Justice Ministry shows that it is biased against Golos alone: so far they have not persecuted any other organizations as unfairly. In purely practical terms we can see no problems for us in this; it will help us at the European Court of Human Rights and the Constitutional Court,” the Golos spokesman said.

(Gazprom-owned, editorially independent Ekho Moskvy news agency also quoted Melkonyants saying: “We will certainly appeal against the decision to suspend (our) operation all the way to the Constitutional Court; complaints for the European Court of Human Rights have also been drafted, and will be updated so as to appeal against this whole law (on “foreign agent” NGOs).”)