The list of opposition candidates barred from running in Moscow’s municipal election has grown. As of Saturday, all seven candidates from the Solidarity Opposition Movement had been pulled from the race. Olga Shorina, the Movement’s press-secretary, reports that electoral officials declined each candidate’s registration on what look to be dubious grounds.
Moscow’s Electoral Commission earlier denied registration to four of the Movement’s candidates, citing technical errors with their signature lists. The last three candidates, including economist Vladimir Milov, were removed for similar reasons, Shorina said. Each was running in one of the capital’s single-mandate districts.
The candidates will now have the chance to appeal the Commission’s ruling, Shorina said. The group will use all methods at their disposal, including legal action, she added.
Another liberal democratic party experienced nearly identical problems. Three independent candidates from the Pravoe Delo party were prevented from registering by the Commission. ...