SRZP summed up the first results of the open competition for nomination to the Moscow City Duma

The Moscow branch of A Just Russia – For Truth (SRZP) summed up on Tuesday the interim results of the party competition to select candidates for the Moscow City Duma elections in September 2024. 247 people took an active part in the program, 87 of them made it to the final stage and are beginning preparations for the internal party primaries.

Let us remind you that the capital’s Social Revolutionaries launched the “Fair Candidate” project in January. Everyone was asked to register on the portal and complete politically oriented tasks – meet with citizens, collect signatures, propose initiatives, etc. The work was evaluated by party curators. According to the head of the Moscow branch of the SRZP, Dmitry Gusev, the project fulfilled its objectives: active Muscovites joined the party, who, together with existing activists, opened the election campaign for the elections to the Moscow City Duma.

Of the 247 active participants, 87 made it to the top leaders. The most successful contestants managed to unite about 7 thousand supporters around themselves, Mr. Gusev said: “The main thing is that the candidates have become noticeable people in their territories where they live and are going to be elected.” The organizers “did everything to ensure that the candidates were ready for the election campaign,” the politician assured: “We had competitive programs, training, the central apparatus of the party actively helped – people learned how to conduct field work and social networks, lawyers taught how to prepare documents.” Dmitry Gusev designated the memorial letter about participation in the project that each participant received as “a document on higher parliamentary education.” “Those who made it to the top leaders are ready-made deputies of the Moscow City Duma tomorrow! – he rejoiced. “For which I congratulate you all.”

Now the finalists will have to go through party primaries (in the SRZP they are called “pre-elections”).

“There is always intrigue, and sometimes conflict around who decides how people get on the ballot,” said Andrei Kuznetsov, a member of the SRZP presidium and State Duma deputy. “It is important for us that the process of selecting candidates is as close as possible to the public.”

At the SRZP primaries, unlike “those that everyone hears about every year,” administrative resources “are not used in any way,” the politician emphasized. It is possible that the party will apply the “project template” “Fair Candidate” in other territories, Mr. Kuznetsov noted, “if its effectiveness is proven.”

Among the potential candidates who passed the first stage of the competition were both newcomers and existing politicians. Among the latter are the ex-chief of staff of the Moscow cell of the SRZP Evgeniy Budnik, his colleague Inna Gorislavtseva, municipal deputies Ilya Sviridov (former candidate for mayor of Moscow) and Victoria Aleinikova, ex-deputy of the Kuzbass Legislative Assembly and Novokuznetsk City Duma Elena Yamshchikova, former State Duma deputy from the LDPR Vasily Vlasov.

The key political topics the old-timers say are the return of public control procedures, issues of medicine, ecology and housing and communal services.

“The competition helped us realize that it is important for a public figure, candidate or parliamentarian to inform people about their activities: when they know that their rights are protected, that they can fight for the quality of their life, they stop giving up,” argued, for example, Victoria Aleinikov.

Among the debutants at the presentation were Zelenograd social activist Olga Vasilyeva, leader of the “Call of the People” movement Sergei Zaitsev, head of the public organization “Ensuring Road Safety” Konstantin Krokhmal and songwriter Mikhail Grebenshchikov.

Political strategist and project curator Dmitry Elovsky told Kommersant that to win, according to party members, candidates need to bring from 30 thousand to 40 thousand voters to the polling stations. The expert is sure that there are politicians who can give such a result among the program participants; besides, the Socialist-Revolutionaries have not yet announced a number of resource candidates “ready to invest a normal amount of money in order to create a serious threat to competitors.” “We are not highlighting them yet: they will go to the primaries and, I think, they will win without problems and fairly,” he explained.

Participation in the first stage of the “Fair Candidate” will be a serious advantage for potential nominees in the primaries, Mr. Elovsky made a reservation, but in any case the pre-elections will be structured in such a way “so that the really strong win.” The Right Russia party will provide methodological and media support (at least in general party propaganda materials and newspapers) to all nominees, the political strategist promised.

Grigory Leiba