Elections to City Council of Lermontov not before May 20

After cancellation by the court of the March 4 elections to the City Council election of Lermontov, the new elections may take place not earlier than May 20, said the spokesman for the Stavropol Territorial Election Commission.

Let us remind you that on March 2 the court satisfied the petition of Deputies of the city of Lermontov, Stavropol Territory, and abolished the early elections to the City Council scheduled for March 4. The courtroom, where the hearings were held, could not house the whole crowd, most of the people waited for the decision in the hallway. The parties decided not to appeal against the ruling.

The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was informed at the organizational and analytical department of the Stavropol Territorial CEC that in accordance with Article 10 of the Federal Law "On Basic Guarantees of Electoral Rights and Right to Participate in Referendum of Citizens of the Russian Federation", the competent authority for appointing elections is the City Council of Lermontov. However, it was recognized as illegitimate by the court. Then, only the Territorial Election Commission of Lermontov was entitled to appoint the elections.

Let us remind you that in September 2011 six out of 15 Deputies of the City Council voluntarily gave up their mandates in protest. The local court satisfied the petition on illegitimacy of the City Council; later this decision was upheld by the Russian Supreme Court; and elections to the City Council were scheduled for March 4.

Elections are appointed 70 days before the voting day; thus, the Lermontov City Council may be elected no earlier than May 20.

However, as Roman Dikanskiy, Secretary of the Election Commission of the Stavropol Territory, noted in his comment to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent, "it is too early to give exact dates; we can forecast only the approximate 'framework limits' imposed by the law; in fact, we don't known when the decision to appoint the elections will be made; and 70 days is the minimum term."