CPRF Deputy: what takes place in Sochi cannot be named election

The pre-election campaign in Russian city-resort Sochi "cannot be called an election, it is more likely an appointment with elements of voting", as Sergey Obukhov, a State Duma Deputy from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) believes.

"If we take the basic principles of fair democratic elections, we'll see a great problem with them here. The opponents of the party in power have practically no chance to declare their stand and bring their views to the voters, said the MP in his conversation with the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. "Plus the respective attitude of the Central Electoral Commission (CEC), which comprises mainly, as stated in many appeals to the CEC, including my own one, the persons dependent in their positions from the incumbent acting city Mayor."

According to Mr Obukhov, at the last rally held in Sochi on April 22, where Yuri Dzaganiya, one of the candidates, tried to invite Pakhomov, acting Mayor, the latter failed to appear, having referred to his own meeting with voters. "Many of the voters could not come to the meeting with Dzaganiya on April 22, because on that day it was announced by radio that exactly in the time of the meeting cinemas will hold free-of-charge film shows for pensioners and all other people," said Obukhov.

"In the Lazarevskoe District, on April 19, a CPRF deputy of legislative assembly and four activists of the party were detained, while walking along the Soyi Street in CPRF T-shirts, and then kept for 8 hours in the 'monkey cage' of a police station," the Deputy has noted. "They were incriminated a non-sanctioned picket."

According to Mr Obukhov, in the course of the pre-election campaign the work of mass media is also full of violations.

"In news programmes you will see 2 or 4 plots devoted to one and the same candidate, while the others are not mentioned at all, or they have 2-3 minutes a day for presenting their clips somewhere in low-rating TV Channels. Practically all the media, even those who had initially expressed their intention to cover the electoral campaign, later 'changed their mind' to do so," the Deputy has noted.

"Despite the legislative requirement, there are practically no general debates among the opponents," he added.

"We're indignant with the fact that we got no chance to make our position public. None of the action held by our Party in Sochi was covered by any TV Channels, although all of them sent their reporters. That is, if a journalist received an editorial assignment, but his or her report failed to appear, it's a manifestation of censorship," said Sergey Obukhov, a State Duma Deputy from the CPRF.

Members of the LDPR (Liberal-Democratic Party of Russia) also complain of difficulties in organizing meetings with voters. "For example, we come to an enterprise to meet the workers, but we're told that director is away on business, and nothing can be done without him," Alexei Kolesnikov, the LDPR candidate for Sochi Mayor, said to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent failed to receive any comments from Anatoly Pakhomov, current acting Mayor and also a candidate, or from his representative. At the Sochi branch of the "Edinaya Rossiya" Party, by which Pakhomov was nominated, an employee named Alexander said that they give no comments.