In Stavropol Territory, opposition complains about unequal conditions of election race

According to members of the Stavropol branch of the “Yabloko” Party, the TV airtime is mainly devoted to the PR of the party in power, and almost no time was allocated for debates. Members of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) complained about the intentional destruction of leaflets and the unwillingness of advertising companies to cooperate with the opposition.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that on September 19, in the Stavropol Territory, elections of members to the regional Duma and representative bodies in five cities of the region will be held simultaneously with the elections of members to the State Duma.

The government “dries up” the population’s interest in the elections by giving them a minimum of TV airtime, believes Vitaly Zubenko, the leader of the Stavropol Territorial branch of the “Yabloko” Party, a candidate for the State Duma. “Each TV channel broadcast only one debate. Radio stations also do not devote airtime to the debates,” Vitaly Zubenko noted.

According to him, almost the entire airtime is occupied by the PR of the ruling party.

In turn, Pavel Kirsanov, the leader of the CPRF branch in the Promyshlenny District of Stavropol, drew the attention of the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent to the use of “black PR” technologies and operation of advertising companies. “The lifespan of leaflets is 20-40 minutes. Then hired people come and rip them off. Advertising companies are more willing to cooperate with the ‘Edinaya Rossiya’ (United Russia) Party, rather than with the opposition: they are likely afraid that the [administrative] resource will be used against them,” Pavel Kirsanov suggested.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on September 16, 2021 at 06:34 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.