Navalny loses the election for mayor of Moscow, but cries victory
Moscow (AsiaNews
) - "A major opposition party has been born in Russia. A real political
movement has been born": these the words of the anti-Putin blogger , Alexey
Navalny , following the elections for mayor of Moscow, in which he challenged
the Kremlin candidate, Sergei Sobyanin. The
election which took place on 8 September saw Navalny formally defeated ( 27.2 %
versus 51.3% ), but he also did far better than expected and now, with his
movement of young volunteers and the support of the middle class in Moscow which
longs for a change , he is ready to take to the field of real
politics . Even at a national
level.
The
anti-corruption activist (who has now become a political personality and
parliamentary leader of the opposition) claims to have collected at least 35 %
of the vote, which was dominated by a strong turnout (around 32 % ) . His
staff and observers denounced fraud and irregularities in favor of the
incumbent mayor , who had to pull out all the stops to avoid a humiliating
runoff . Navalny
asked for a recount , but it is unlikely that the result will be overturned .
In
the aftermath of the vote, however , his supporters took to the streets in Moscow
to make their voices heard, to prove that they will not give up and that beyond
the war of figures, the elections were a "victory" . Navalny
said as much from the stage , under which at least 10 thousand people gathered
in Balotnaya Square, which last year was the focal point of the most massive
anti-government protests in the last decade. "In
Russia a major opposition , a real political movement has been born", he declared as the crowd screamed "
second round " " Putin thief." He
then spoke of aiming to form a grand coalition of several parties that " will
bring United Russia down" , the Putin formation which has monopolized power
for years. "
I only ask you to believe me , I know how to overturn the system," he
assured them, explaining that the plan now is to bring the model of ' team Navalny
' to other regions and cities of the country: volunteers , online fundraising ,
door
to door campaigning and interactive projects to awaken the civic consciousness
of the Russians. This
with one eye on the upcoming elections to the Duma next year, as well as the
presidential election of 2018.
Experts
, however , point out that Navalny's success in taking on politics will depend
on what is decided in court. A
five year sentence for theft of timber from a public company hangs over his
head. The
ruling could be enforceable after the appeal process, the date of which has yet
to be announced. Navalny
is convinced that the verdict will be confirmed and in that case he will be
precluded from participating in any electoral competition . But this does not discourage him
at present. He
knows that now a process of change has started and there is no going back. And
there are those, such as the political scientist Stanislav Belkovsky , who say
that a valid replacement is ready to take over the leadership of the movement
from the blogger if necessary: his young and beautiful wife , Yulia .
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24/08/2012
