Experts state absence of intrigue at KChR primaries

The outcomes of the intraparty voting (the so-called primaries) of the "Edinaya Rossiya" (United Russia) Party in the Karachay-Cherkessian Republic (KChR) were predefined by the influence of the administrative resource, said the experts interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot".

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on May 22, regions of Russia, including those of the North-Caucasian and Southern Federal Districts (NCFD and SFD), held the primaries of the "United Russia" aimed to reveal candidates for the MPs of the Russian State Duma.

"In a number of regions, including the KChR, leaders of public opinion were not allowed to participate in the primaries," Sergey Polyakov, a political analyst and the director of the Centre for Social and Political Studies and Programmes, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

"The debates, held during the primaries, were dull; no acute socio-political problems were discussed at them; and the audiences of the debates consisted, as a rule, of 'driven' state servants; or debates were just held in empty halls," said Polyakov, adding that, at the same time, administrative mobilization technologies and bribing of voters were actively used.

The outcomes of the primaries in the KChR were expected, said Djanibek Kuzhev, a member of the board's of the movement "Abaza".

"The leaders of the primaries were known before the voting, because local authorities had pre-decided their desired candidates. The main fact is that the society has no demand for resisting it... In this way, bit by bit, stone by stone, we see the resulting complete atrophy of people's influence on political life," Mr Kuzhev told the "Caucasian Knot".

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.