The Communist Party officially refused to nominate its candidate for governor of Primorye

The conference of the Primorsky Branch of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation made a final decision not to nominate a candidate for the autumn gubernatorial elections. The communists are outraged that their representatives were not en masse included in the precinct electoral commissions, and see this as the desire of the region’s authorities to get rid of “undesirable inspectors” when counting votes. A Just Russia – For Truth and the Liberal Democratic Party nominated little-known candidates, and New People, apparently, will also refuse to participate in the elections. As a result, the election campaign for the incumbent governor Oleg Kozhemyako, nominated for a new term by United Russia, will have a referendum character, the political scientist believes.

On Saturday, June 24, the conference of the Primorsky branch of the Communist Party supported the decision made earlier by the regional committee of the party not to nominate a candidate in the September elections for the head of Primorye. “The overwhelming majority of delegates voted for the boycott of the elections. We do not consider it possible to participate in the elections, because we were tied hand and foot. Without control over the precinct commissions, we can easily “draw” the fourth or fifth place. This only discredits the party,” Anatoly Dolgachev, the first secretary of the regional committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, told Kommersant. He assured that the decision to boycott the elections is final.

The decision not to nominate a candidate for governor was made by the Plenum of the Regional Committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation on June 10. The communists made such a demarche in protest against the mass exclusion of their representatives from the newly formed precinct election commissions (PECs). “With the exception of the Sovetsky district of Vladivostok, in the remaining four districts of the city, the Communists are included in only 15% of the PECs,” Mr. Dolgachev explained earlier.

On June 24, a regional conference of the LDPR was also held, which nominated Inna Kosheleva, a deputy of the Vladivostok Duma, for governor. Earlier, the Liberal Democrats announced the nomination of a more status candidate – ex-State Duma deputy, head of the LDPR faction in the Legislative Assembly of Primorye Andrei Andreichenko, who in the previous elections of the head of the region in December 2018 took second place with 25.16% of the vote. However, “the supreme council of the Liberal Democratic Party recommended that Inna Kosheleva be nominated as a candidate for governor,” Andreichenko told Kommersant.

In turn, the Primorsky United Russia party at their regional conference on June 20 nominated for a new term the incumbent governor Oleg Kozhemyako, who ran as an independent candidate in 2018.

In addition, regional branches of three more parties nominated their candidates. Alexander Andoni from the Communists of Russia and Denis Kovalev from the Cossack Party, who head the respective regional party organizations, have already submitted documents for nomination to the election commission. A Just Russia – For the Truth nominated the director of the Vladivostok waste disposal company Kirill Rudyuk.

A certain intrigue in the election campaign could bring the participation of the State Duma deputy from the “New People” Roza Chemeris, who is considered a representative of the opposition to the governor of the regional elite. But she made it clear that she did not intend to run. “If the situation in the region had stabilized over the past five years since the previous gubernatorial elections, there would have been different options. But next year is the presidential election. It is unwise to shake up an already not very stable situation, and the governor himself is doing an excellent job with this, ”said Ms. Chemeris in her Telegram channel.

Elections in Primorye are turning into a parade of “spoilers,” says Primorsky political scientist Vyacheslav Belyakov. “The parliamentary opposition actually refused to participate in the campaign, while the residents of Primorye are offered to choose from one governor and a galaxy of unknown people. The campaign is preparing for a referendum scenario. On the one hand, this guarantees the governor a victory, on the other hand, there is also a danger in such a scenario: the lack of competition provokes a low turnout, which is not welcome at gubernatorial elections. So the governor’s team will have to try to bring intrigue to the campaign, ”he says. But political scientist Pavel Nalivaiko calls the refusal of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation to nominate its candidate for governor “shooting himself in the foot.” “The participation of each party in the elections is a kind of audit of its electoral position and preparation for the campaign (presidential.— “b”) in 2024. And the decision of the communists, in my opinion, is reckless,” he believes. At the same time, the expert considers the position of Oleg Kozhemyako “very strong.”

Recall that only candidates from parties will be able to take part in the September elections in Primorye. The Regional Legislative Assembly introduced amendments to the electoral code, excluding the possibility of self-nomination. To register, candidates must overcome the municipal filter by collecting at least 75 signatures of deputies and heads of municipalities (with at least 51 autographs from representatives of municipal and city districts). The nomination of candidates will last until July 15.

Alexey Chernyshev, Vladivostok