Political scientist: right-wing presidential candidate is a must

It would be an unforgivable mistake if the right-wingers did not participate in the presidential elections, said President of the Unity in the Name of Russia Fund Vyacheslav Nikonov.

Speaking at a roundtable in Moscow Wednesday, Nikonov said that despite the defeat in the State Duma (lower house) elections, the Union of the Right Forces (SPS) and Yabloko should definitely forward their candidate to the presidential elections.

"It is an unpardonable mistake to miss the elections for any party," he said adding that the party would risk being forgotten.

In his opinion, with the presidential campaign round the corner, political parties are hurrying to adopt crucial decisions. This refers both to the SPS and Yabloko, as well as the Communists.

"The future of the Communist Party is being decided now," Nikonov believes. "The political death of Gennady Zyuganov will be sped up and the decision on a new leader delayed till the March presidential elections," he believes.

The SPS and Yabloko are faced with similar prospects, he believes.

Earlier, SPS and Yabloko representatives declared their intention to forward a common candidate to the presidential elections but now party leaders do not rule out the possibility of missing the elections.

Yabloko is considering the prospect of non-participation in the elections, Deputy Chairman of this party Sergei Mitrokhin said live at the Ekho Moskvy (echo of Moscow) radio station Wednesday.

"After we received documents from the Communist Party about the falsification of the elections, we began to contemplate the boycotting of the upcoming elections," he said.

At the same time, Mitrokhin noted that the ultimate decision would be adopted at the Yabloko congress.

A right-wing leader, Irina Khakamada, in turn said that the SPS also thought about boycotting the elections, he said.

The SPS and Yabloko can boycott the presidential elections together with the Communists, she said.

Khakamada added that the promotion of a common democratic candidate was not highly possible.