Opposition Candidates Refuse To Boycott Election Of Moscow Mayor

Arm and Torso of Person in Brown Sweater Placing Paper Ballot into Ballot Box

(RIA Novosti – July 29, 2013) Yabloko leader Sergey Mitrokhin, chairman of Just Russia Nikolay Levichev and the candidate from RPR-Parnas, Aleksey Navalnyy, will not withdraw their candidatures from the September election of Moscow mayor, RIA Novosti (1) reported on 29 July.

A coordinator of the Left Front, Sergey Udaltsov, earlier called on Levichev, Navalnyy, Mitrokhin and Ivan Melnkiov (CPRF (Communist Party of the Russian Federation)) to withdraw their candidatures from the election of Moscow mayor in September.

“I will not take down my candidature and will not do so under any circumstances. A boycott of elections is weakness. I will fight to the end,” Mitrokhin told RIA Novosti.

Navalnyy, as before, also does not intend to withdraw from the election, his spokeswoman Anna Veduta announced. “Our positions have not changed. At present Aleksey is meeting voters,” she told RIA Novosti.

The headquarters of Levichev regarded the statement by Udaltsov as self-promotion and stressed that their candidate would continue to fight for the post of mayor. “Statements like this are in keeping with Sergey Udaltsov’s style, he is doing self-promotion. Election was announced. Now I am not convinced that it would be a very calm campaign. I think that the situation will heat up and we are ready to fight. We do not intend to withdraw,” the head of Just Russia election headquarters, Aleksandr Ageyev, told RIA Novosti.

Sergey Udaltsov tweeted earlier on 29 July: “Sergey Udaltsov regards the forthcoming election of Moscow mayor illegal and illegitimate as the rights of majority of candidates are being brazenly violated.” (2) “Udaltsov announces that the most honest and principled position is to boycott the fraudulent elections of Moscow mayor,” (3) “and therefore he officially invites candidates Melnikov, Levichev, Navalnyy and Mitrokhin to withdraw from the dishonest mayoral election”. (4) He also published a call to boycott the election in a blog on Ekho Moskvy radio on 29 July (5)

(1) RIA Novosti news agency, Moscow, in Russian 1048 gmt 29 Jul 13
(2) https://twitter.com/s–udaltsov/status/361752645079269376,
(3) https://twitter.com/s–udaltsov/status/361752954644086784,

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