Candidates for Moscow mayor open public support centers

Last Friday, candidate for mayor of Moscow from the New People party, Vladislav Davankov, opened his public support headquarters, which will collect “thousands of ideas” from citizens to improve the life of the capital. Earlier, two more candidates had similar structures – the current mayor Sergei Sobyanin (nominated by United Russia) and Moscow City Duma deputy Leonid Zyuganov (KPRF). The promoter of A Just Russia – For Truth Dmitry Gusev promises to establish his headquarters in the near future, and Boris Chernyshov (LDPR) plans to open mobile public receptions instead of a headquarters.

On July 14, the New People party opened a headquarters for public support for its candidate for mayor of Moscow, Vice Speaker of the State Duma Vladislav Davankov. The headquarters is located in the center of the capital, on 1st Tverskaya-Yamskaya Street, and, as Mr. Davankov assured, anyone can visit it. The headquarters is headed by the President of the Russian Diving Federation Stanislav Druzhinin, he is also one of the confidants of the candidate from the New People. In total, at the moment, candidate Davankov has more than 100 proxies, their ranks are still replenished (the maximum possible number is 500 people).

The main mission of the public headquarters is to collect “thousands of ideas” about improving the city, which will then form the “handbook” of the mayor of Moscow, Vladislav Davankov told Kommersant. These proposals will be received both electronically through the candidate’s website and directly from Muscovites at the candidate’s meetings with voters – the vice speaker plans to visit all districts of Moscow during his campaign. As part of the headquarters, according to the party member, there will be 12 committees that will process incoming proposals and find ways to solve them, Vladislav Davankov explained. “Whatever the result of these elections, we will still continue to do this work,” the New People candidate assured Kommersant.

Mr. Davankov became the third of five registered mayoral candidates to establish a public headquarters. On July 10, a similar structure was opened in support of the United Russia candidate, the current mayor Sergei Sobyanin. The headquarters, located in the premises of the Digital Business Space at 47 Pokrovka, was headed by the leader of the capital United Russia, State Duma Vice Speaker Pyotr Tolstoy. According to him, the task of the headquarters is to rally all social forces and movements, all Muscovites “for the sake of a common victory.” “Hundreds of public organizations and professional associations operate in Moscow, which are grateful to Sergei Semenovich for his work. Millions of Muscovites appreciate the mayor’s achievements in the development of the city. They are ready to support Sergei Sobyanin in the elections,” Tolstoy said at the opening of the headquarters. The Digital Business Space also has a reception area for Muscovites who want to share their ideas for city development.

But the communists did without solemn ceremonies: the headquarters of public support for the candidate from the Communist Party, Moscow City Duma deputy Leonid Zyuganov was launched even before the official start of the campaign, when the party was just discussing the candidate, Kommersant was told in the press service of the headquarters. It is headed by the first secretary of the Moscow city committee of the Communist Party, the head of the Communist Party faction in the Moscow City Duma, Nikolai Zubrilin. “It is the Moscow city organization of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation that is the main engine and ideologist of this campaign,” the press service explained. The stated task of the headquarters is to unite active citizens, provide them with a platform and opportunities to protect the interests of the city and its inhabitants. “Everyone who is not indifferent to the life of the capital and wants to influence its development can join the work of the public headquarters. This is an interesting teamwork, which, we are sure, will unite more and more metropolitan activists,” the press service of the headquarters noted.

Candidate Zyuganov is supported by the People’s Left Patriotic Front, which includes representatives of such social movements and organizations as “Children of War”, the Lenin Communist Youth Union, the “Left Front”, the All-Russian Women’s Union “Hope of Russia”, “Russian Lad”, RUSO (“Russian scientists of a socialist orientation”), the movement “Education for All”, the Union of Soviet Officers, the Movement in Support of the Army, Defense Industry and Military Science. “The Communist Party has always been the center of these movements, and it is not surprising that in these elections they provide the greatest support to Leonid Zyuganov in his election work,” the press service of the headquarters of the Communist Party candidate noted.

The press service of the LDPR candidate, State Duma Vice Speaker Boris Chernyshov told Kommersant that, first of all, the party will launch mobile public receptions, so that it would be more convenient for the townspeople, most of whom live in residential areas, to meet with their candidate and get help. “The task of our candidate is to protect the interests of Muscovites, who today do not feel the care of the authorities,” the press service said. “It is the format of mobile receptions that will allow us to hear the opinions, problems, requests of the maximum number of people.” Public receptions will work “on the principle of complete openness and accessibility,” the press service promises.

Finally, State Duma deputy Dmitry Gusev, nominated by A Just Russia – For Truth, assured Kommersant that he would have a headquarters, but did not disclose details yet: “The headquarters will open in the very near future, there will be all the information about his work.”

It should be noted that on July 14, the Moscow City Electoral Committee at its meeting drew a line under the stage of nomination and registration of candidates for mayor. Commission Deputy Chairman Dmitry Reut said that 7 out of 12 nominees who did not bring documents and signatures of municipal deputies and voters necessary for registration to the election commission lost their status. These are self-nominated candidates Nasib Huseyn oglu Hasanov, Zhanna Gorbacheva, Alexander Gorlov, Iosif Dzhagaev, Pavel Novikov, Alexandra Tishchenko and cosmonaut Sergei Zaletin nominated by the Russian Revival Party. “For the first time, we have not denied registration to anyone. I want to draw attention to this, – Dmitry Reut emphasized. – Those who brought the necessary documents, collected a sufficient number of signatures of municipal deputies, they were registered. Those who did not bring documents, did not collect signatures, lost the status of candidates. This is absolutely in accordance with the law.”

Elena Rozhkova