Election scandal in the republic of Yakutia

Russia’s Central Electoral Committee was supposed to make its decision regarding Yakutia republic President, Mikhail Nokolayev. Pursuant to the opinion of the Committee, the electoral committee of the republic of Yakutia violated the law, having registered Nikolayev.

Contrary to expectations, the Central Electoral Committee did not make its decision concerning the claim from a group of the Yakutian parliamentarians about Mikhail Nikolayev’s illegitimate, as they believe, registration. The question was handed over to the Supreme Court.

The deputies of the Yakutian parliament who arrived in Moscow insisted Nikolayev’s registration should be cancelled. They claimed that the constitution of the republic prohibits a candidate to run for a third term. However, a spokesman for the Central Electoral Committee stated that the decision pertaining to Nikolayev’s registration fell under the Law about the third election period, which has been recently passed.

As a result, it was decided not to “bother” the legal proceedings, started in the Supreme Court, though members of the Central Electoral Committee stressed it was not a reason to refrain from making a decision.

What happened to Alexander Veshnyakov – a fighter for the justice of the law? In his recent television interview, he was so sure in the coming triumph of justice: “There are almost 2 months left before the elections; they will take place in December. But one should not protract this scandalous, like you said, situation. We have already had calls on the matter; if there are going to be any complaints submitted to the Central Electoral Committee, then we are obliged to consider it within 5 days and make a certain decision. In other words, we will most likely cancel the illegal decision to register Mikhail Nikolayev as a candidacy running for presidency. And everything will be clear.”

Dmitry Litvinovich PRAVDA.Ru

On the photo: Alexander Veshnyakov - the chairman of the Russian Central Electoral Committee

Read the original in Russian: http://www.pravda.ru/main/2001/10/30/33236.html