Candidate in Novorossiysk was denied entry to the polling station

In Novorossiysk, two young men blocked the entrance to the polling station for the candidate for deputy of the city council, Artur May, and let him through only after the intervention of security forces. The candidate filed a complaint with the police about the violation.

As "Kavkazsky Uzel" reported, gubernatorial and municipal elections are being held in Kuban from September 12 to 14. After the start of voting, candidates reported ballot stuffing and falsifications during home voting. Observers also reported ballot stuffing and complained about conflicts with members of election commissions.

Candidate for deputy of the Novorossiysk City Duma Artur May today reported attempts by unknown people to prevent him from entering the polling station. "Provocations have begun, unknown people in balaclavas are not letting me, as a candidate, into the polling station," he wrote on his Telegram channel.

The publication is illustrated with a video clip, which shows two young men - one in a medical mask, the other in a balaclava, standing on the porch in front of the entrance to the polling station. Between them stands a police officer, to whom May, who is filming the video, is addressing.

"These citizens are not letting me into the precinct election commission," he says, and then turns to the young men. "Why are you wearing masks and balaclavas? Do you have something to hide?"

One of the young men the candidate is addressing holds a phone to his ear, the second says: "Everything is fine." The police officer asks the candidate to go through, and he goes up the steps, while the young man holding the phone tries to block his way.

"They didn't let me in, can you imagine?" May said, entering the station and addressing the women sitting on chairs along the wall. "There are some citizens standing there."

Another video that May published shows a conversation between a police officer and these young people. The conversation takes place on the street near the building, and the police officer demands that the young man take off his balaclava. He responds by saying, "Okay, patrol, no big deal," and asks the police officer to step aside so that he can carry out the order "in front of everyone."

The police officer insists that he take off his balaclava "here." "I can't in front of everyone," the guy replies and only obeys after being threatened with the use of physical force and special equipment and a report being drawn up. After he takes off his balaclava, the police officer asks for his documents, to which the guy replies that he doesn't have them with him. Then another police officer demands that he go to the patrol car, and the young man obeys, while the second one walks alongside him.

Another video shows both young men entering the detainee's compartment of the police car, and a police officer closing the door behind them. "I filed a police report on this violation," Artur May later reported on his Telegram channel.

To recap, today candidate Alexander Safronov voiced information about violations at polling stations in Krasnodar Krai in a video address to the head of the Central Election Commission and the deputy head of the presidential administration, and called for preventing the falsification of election results. Authors of comments in Telegram supported his call.

The "Caucasian Knot" publishes materials about these elections on the page "Elections-2025: South of Russia".