Sochi hosts rally in support of voters' rights

An action in defence of voters' rights was held in Sochi. Its participants - candidates for the City Assembly, businessmen and members of public organizations - voiced for free elections, against arbitrariness of local bureaucrats and pressure of the executive authorities on undesirable candidates.

Natalia Serdyukova, the organizer of the rally and co-chair of the Union of Committees of Soldier's Mothers of Russia, criticized local authorities and the City Electoral Commission (CEC) and called the audience to come to vote at the elections of deputies of the City Assembly on March 14, 2010.

"I express my distrust to the CEC of Sochi and full distrust to the Mayor and city administration!" Ms Serdyukova has announced.

Most presentations were on the pre-election campaign. The participants of the rally assert that lists of parents are compiled in schools and kindergartens; then, they call the parents and insistently recommend voting for "proper" candidates.
Many critical statements were addressed to local media and, first of all, news programmes of Sochi TV channels, which are covering, as the participants asserted, exclusively the pre-election activity of members of the "Edinaya Rossiya".