‘Map of violations’: boom of playgrounds and attacks on opposition candidates

by  Olga Danilova

The Movement ‘Golos’ keeps reporting the violations committed during the 2016 electoral period which ends on 18 September, the Single Election Day.

In the second half of July and early August ‘Map of violations’ received 214 online messages. Most of these complaints are related to illegal campaigning of the ruling party representatives, though not excluding the other parties. Moreover, a few cases of attacks on opposition candidates were reported.

Campaigning under the guise of festivals and ‘Days of Health’

During the current election period, the ruling party candidates for the legislative bodies are eagerly taking advantage of a variety of non-political events for the benefit of their election campaign. For example, on July 30, on the streets of Orel city, encompassed in the fifth constituency, doctors of the Clinic No. 3 were carrying out health check-up. The chief doctor of this clinic Omelyusik Valeriy representing ‘United Russia’ is running for the State Duma in this constituency.

Residents of Samara were offered the ‘emergency legal aid’. Respectively, an equipped car was driving around the territory of the constituency No. 161 as part of the project ‘Keep contact with the governor’. The coordinator of this activity is the member of Regional Duma Yevgeny Serper, running for the State Duma as ‘United Russia’ candidate. The Khvorostyansky district TV channel broadcasted this information under the guise of news.

Cultural events were no exception, what concerns political campaign. On 22-23 July, souvenirs bearing logos of ‘United Russia’, produced not at the expense of electoral fund, were distributed on Shukshin readings organized by the administration of Altai krai.

‘Golos’ qualifies these actions as bribery, rather than just illegal campaigning. Since 15 July, the ‘Map of violations’ received 11 reports of such cases.

From 8 to 12 August, a mobile team with expanded staff on ‘Health’ bus provides health service in Pavlovsk district. Presumably, such service was organized at the expense of regional budget. Altai region, Pavlovsk 

Politics on the playground

In the regions, new playgrounds are booming. These rather not the most significant and important events are strongly covered by the media. Moreover, the events are certainly attended by the administration officials and activists bearing party logos.

According to the ‘Map of violations’, Moscow region is on top what concerns the boom of new playgrounds. The playgrounds were built in Balashikha, Elektrostal, Schelkov and other settlements. In the TV footages covering these events one could notice the flags of ‘United Russia’ being demonstrated, what suggests that the footages serve the campaigning purpose of the party ‘United Russia’ candidate Andrei Vorobiev Yurevich, who heads the regional group No. 22. The video was not produced at the expense of the electoral fund of candidate or party.

‘Party’ playgrounds were as well built in Omsk and Yoshkar-Ola.

‘Golos’ reminds that in accordance with Art. 17 of the Federal Law ‘On State Civil Service of the Russian Federation’, civil servants are prohibited from using their official authority for the purpose of election campaign.

Non-stop work

Candidates enjoying authorities’ support are not limiting themselves to just this kind of backing. The candidates are as well using their staff and facilities. For example, in Yakutia, the municipal culture agency is in charge for collecting signatures in support of the independent candidate, the former minister of culture of the Republic, currently engaged in directing, Andrei Borisov, rather than volunteers or his campaign headquarters staff. Correspondingly, the activists of Communist Party and ‘Just Russia’ filed a complaint to the TEC of Megino-Kangalassky district. Moreover, in the village of Maya in Megino-Kangalassky district the signature gathering in support of Borisov was conducted in the office of head of administration.

The signature gathering by state and municipal authorities is prohibited by applicable law.

The facilities of Khvorostyansky District administration in Samara region were misused by the local representatives of ‘United Russia’, where on July 12 they held a special conference. The head of district administration Makhov issued a report on the party election programme, whereas the local newspaper reported on the events under the guise of news, without being paid from the election fund of the party.

Under the disguise of ‘news’

By the way, the vast majority of notifications received by the ‘Map of violations’ were related to illegal campaigning in print-based media.

Information containing campaigning attributes pertaining to a particular party or candidate was presented under the guise of regular news, thus the publications were released not at the expense of candidates’ or parties’ election funds. This concerns local, as well as municipal and national media. For example, on 2 August, the TASS agency has released a publication with the headline ‘Onishchenko’s meeting with Moscow voters resulted in closure of illegal shop’. On the same day, the newspaper ‘Evening Moscow’ published an article with the headline ‘Gennady Onishchenko has released election programme’. None of the publications were paid from the election fund of ‘United Russia’ candidate Onishchenko running for election in Tushino constituency.

Obstacles to the work of the opposition parties and candidates

In addition to the denied permission to distribute legitimate campaign materials and experienced black PR, opposition candidates also suffered from physical assault. In Moscow, ‘Yabloko’ candidates were attacked by hooligans.

The candidate for the State Duma in the Leningrad single-member constituency No. 198 Julia Galyamin has reported that since the end of July supporters campaigning in support of her had been already attacked three times. On Saturday, July 30, at Zapadniy Degunin two men tried to force into the car Galyamin’s volunteer. ‘When he fought back and called the police, the attackers claimed that the activist had stolen from them five thousand rubles. It took a while for police to sort things out, but eventually everybody was released. We filed a criminal complaint’, - wrote Galyamin on his Facebook page.

The next day, during a meeting with voters Yulia Galyamin herself experienced egg attack. After that her campaign cub was destroyed; in August, it was located close to the XL shopping centre on the Dmitrov highway. A stout man wrecked the cube and attacked the campaigners. Galyamin notes that during any of these incidents the police was not around. The headquarters of the candidate referred the issue to the chairwoman of Central Election Commission Ella Pamfilova requesting to address the situation and ensure incident-free environment for campaigning.

On 3 August, the volunteers of ‘Yabloko’ candidate Kirill Goncharov, running for election in Nagatinsky constituency in Moscow, were attacked. Unidentified persons were driving around in three cars and stole campaign newspapers from three locations.

A few days later a campaign cube of the candidate for the State Duma nominated by the party ‘Parnas’ Andrei Shalnev (125the constituency), located not far from the Moscow suburban train station ‘Podlipki Dachnye’, was as well stolen. ‘A mobile phone camera of one of supporters was destroyed. We are preparing a complaint to the police concerning this incident,’ - said Shalnev.

The regions do not disdain from using criminal methods against rivals either. The victims are mostly candidates representing the Communist Party. Thus the representatives of the Communist Party - the candidate for the State Duma in Mari constituency No. 22 Sergey Kazankov and the candidate for Ulyanovsk region governor Alexei Kurinniy - reported about the stolen campaign materials. In Yaroslavl, in several areas at the same time the billboards of the Communist Alexander Vorobiev, who is running for the State Duma in the 194th single-member constituency, were attacked with paint bombs.

Since the middle of July, the ‘Map of violations’ received 11 reports of criminal acts committed against the candidates and election staff.

While the candidates have to neutralize hooligans on their own, law enforcement authorities are engaged in intimidation of the disloyal. At night on July 30, in Vologda region, police searched the house of the candidate for State Duma Yevgeniy Domozhirov. In the process, the law enforcement officials injured the hand of an elderly mother of the candidate. Domozhirov, long been known in the region for its fight against corruption, has experienced force against him not for the first time. ‘The search seems to be justified with a complaint of a certain citizen, whose name is Nevzorova - said the candidate. - Most likely, we are talking about one of the personnel of ‘Morgozaks’ (the hotel ‘Ariya’), in our opinion, backed up by the regional prosecutor. I am not aware of Ms. Nevzorova’s fibs, but there is hardly any ground for the night search, but putting a pressure on me’.

A candidate for the State Duma from Novosibirsk Yegor Savin (‘Parnas’) had as well to experience detention and face his home being searched by the police. On 7 July, he was detained in the airport of Novosibirsk and three weeks later, on August 1, law enforcement officials visited Yegor’s home to inform that criminal charges were brought against him under Article 20.3 of the Administrative Code (Public demonstration of Nazi symbols). According to the candidate, the account, where the photos, on basis of which the criminal charges were brought against him, was fake and created not by him. ‘Judging by the number of officials involved and attention paid to all this, I will be eliminated from the election’, - says Savin.

Since July 15, the ‘Map of violations’ received 11 reports concerning the law enforcement pressure on candidates. 

Eliminated from the election

In the regions, the candidates and parties were denied registration. On 7 August, the Election Commission of Novgorod region denied registration of ‘Yabloko’ party-list for the Novgorod Regional Duma. The regional election commission members took this decision unanimously. The decision was justified by concluding that ‘the seal of the party did not match the imprint of the seal of the Ministry of Justice division in Novgorod region’.

‘Map of violations’ Statistics – from 15 July to 10 August

Statistics on Violations: *

• Misuse of administrative resources for the benefit of political actors – 135.
• Violations of the rules on use of media for election campaign – 74.
• Violations of the rules on outdoor campaign – 46.
• Violations of the rights of candidates – 52.
• Crime – 11.
• Abuse of power by law enforcement – 11.
• Bribery – 10.
• Administration pressure on voters – 8.

* The same conduct can result in several violations.

Top regions by number of violations:

• Samara region – 41 reports.
• Moscow – 27 reports.
• Altai region – 16 reports.
• The Moscow region – 16 reports.
•  St. Petersburg - 16 reports.

We would like to remind the ‘Map of violations’ publishes information on violations of the election laws. Crowdsourcing is embraced as information gathering method: observers, voters, commission members may report on violations observed during the election campaign and at polling stations on the polling day filling in the online form or contacting the hotline 8 800 333-33-50. Posts are pre-moderated.