Three candidates will continue to participate in the elections of Khakassia

In addition to the State Duma deputy from the “United Russia” Sergei Sokol, no one will be removed from the election of the head of Khakassia. This was reported to Vedomosti by an interlocutor in the presidential administration and an interlocutor close to her. On the morning of September 2, Sokol wrote on his Telegram channel that he was withdrawing from the elections for health reasons.

Elections of the head of the region, as well as legislative assemblies and city councils of Abakan, will be held in Khakassia from 8 to 10 September. According to the legislation, a candidate can withdraw from the elections not later than five days before the voting, and in the presence of compelling circumstances – one day before. Such circumstances include limited legal capacity, serious illness of a candidate or his relatives, as well as the appointment of a candidate to a state or municipal position.

That is, the ill Sokol could withdraw from the elections until September 7, while the other two candidates – Mikhail Molchanov from the Liberal Democratic Party and Vladimir Grudinin from the Communists of Russia – only have September 2 to withdraw. If only one candidate remains in the elections, the election commission must postpone voting for up to three months for additional nomination of candidates.

On September 1, Molchanov told Vedomosti that he did not plan to withdraw his candidacy from the election of the head of Khakassia. “I am a representative of the LDPR party, I have a party leadership, a party decision. The party goes to these elections, nothing has changed with us,” he said.

Denis Brazauskas, the first secretary of the Communists of Russia Republican Committee, deputy of the Supreme Council, could not answer the question of Vedomosti about whether Vladimir Grudinin’s candidacy would be withdrawn from the elections. The candidate himself was unavailable for comment.

Chairman of the Central Committee of the “Communists of Russia” Sergei Malinkovich told “Vedomosti” that the party is closely monitoring the situation. “We are in opposition to both the Communist Party of the Russian Federation ruling in the region and United Russia (although I personally respect Sokol very much, he is a defender of the Motherland),” he said. The decision on the tactics of the party will be made “based on the course of events” and the interests of the party.

On September 2, Sokol posted a selfie from the hospital on his Telegram channel. In the post, he recalled that he had been campaigning in recent months, “but life decided otherwise and made its own adjustments” to his plans.

“Today I am in the hospital with complications from the July operation. <…> Today, doctors, unfortunately, are categorical: getting out of bed means getting even more serious complications. <…> I made a difficult but honest decision – to withdraw my candidacy from the election of the head of the republic. The team and family were supportive,” he wrote, adding that “today I can’t fully devote myself to the fight for the governor’s post.”

The candidate for the head of Khakassia from the Communist Party, the current head of the region Valentin Konovalov, in turn, said that he wishes Sokol a speedy recovery: “I am convinced that after his amendment we will work together in the interests of Khakassia. Our common goal is the fulfillment of the tasks set by the President of Russia, it is the unification of all the forces of society for the development of Khakassia in the interests of our residents.”

According to Konovalov, representatives of all parliamentary parties and non-partisans work in his team, and he is sure that “by joint efforts, together we will ensure the further development of our beloved republic.” Earlier, two interlocutors of Vedomosti in United Russia said that, according to closed sociology, Konovalov could win. Experts working with the ruling party also publicly spoke about the difficult campaign for United Russia.

The election committee of Khakassia said on September 2 that the withdrawal of Sokol’s candidacy would not lead to the cancellation of the elections, TASS reported. They promised to consider United Russia’s application for withdrawal on September 3 or 4.

At the same time, on August 30, the chairman of the CEC, Ella Pamfilova, at a meeting of the commission, said that a special group of representatives of the CEC, the prosecutor’s office and the Ministry of Internal Affairs would be sent to the elections in Khakassia. According to her, the Senator from Khakassia, a member of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation Valery Usatyuk applied to the CEC with a statement about possible fraud and pressure on members of election commissions in connection with the elections in the region.