Opponents of the Kremlin and the West accuse him of being one of the most deadly critics of the deadly poison, with President Vladimir Putin facing a key test of support in the regional elections ahead of next year's national vote.
Nearly one-third of voters are eligible to
vote in the ballot, which begins on Friday, in which representatives at various
levels of government can be elected’ in 83 constituencies, including 18
governors.
The clash comes amid unprecedented anti-government
protests and daily protests in neighboring Belarus since July in Russia's Far
East Khabarovsk region over the arrest of a popular governor from outside the
ruling party. Analysts say authorities are doing everything possible to limit
the opposition's gains.
"There is a real threat to the
Kremlin," said Vladimir Gilman, a professor of political science at the
European University in St. Petersburg.
Putin, 67, has pushed for constitutional
changes that could extend his two-decade rule by 2036. Nevertheless, its
popularity plummeted earlier this year after falling oil prices and the spread
of the Cove-19 epidemic, a recession that could shrink the economy by about 4%
in 2020.
Opposition leader Alexei Navalny was
working to support opposition candidates for the ruling United Russia party
when he was hunted down’ in Siberia last month after German doctors identified
him as being poisoned by a military neurotransmitter, Novichok. He was born in
a coma in a Berlin hospital on Monday, where he was sent’ for treatment.
Navalny has been followed by millions of
people in Russia through online videos exposing high-level corruption. Despite
pressure from European leaders, Russia has so far failed to investigate the
matter, and has no evidence that the 44-year-old campaigner was poisoned.
In a video released during a trip to
Siberia and released after being hospitalized’ Navalny appealed to viewers to
support politicians in every field with the best chance of defeating the
Russian candidate. Take your "smart voting" step. The party lost
one-third of its seats in last year's Moscow City Council elections due to the
promotion of the tactic.
This time around, his campaign is urging
about 1,150 candidates to vote in municipal contests as a rehearsal for the
2021 autumn elections in the lower house of parliament. It has fielded
candidates in several areas, including Novosibirsk and Tomsk.
"Poisoning could lead to a major
backlash to seriously accelerate the erosion of government support," said
Ivan Zhdanov, head of Navalny's anti-corruption fund in Moscow's office.
Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the
Kremlin had no fears that Neville's illness could affect the vote. "There
are no such concerns," he told reporters in a conference call on Friday.
Putin is far more popular than United
Russia. According to independent Moscow-based pollster Levada, his ranking rose
by 6 percentage points to 66% in August, as economic activity resumed with a
slowdown in lockdown measures against the corona virus. According to the
state-run Russian Public Opinion Research Center, or VTSIOM, United Russia has
more than 31 percent support.
Although authorities have made it
difficult for opposition candidates to register, incumbent governors are still
struggling in half a dozen constituencies. These include Arctic, where
dissatisfaction with last year's catastrophic floods is high, and Arkansas,
where demonstrations thwarted landfill site plans.
Election monitors are warning of the
decision to hold a three-day referendum, including online voting. The election
is taking place in "the worst legal framework in 25 years," watchdog
Golos said.
Navalny crews have complained of attacks,
including in Novosibirsk when several volunteers fell ill after the attackers
threw a bottle of harmful substances on September 8.
A day later, police conducted more than 20
raids targeting campaigners, who support exiled tycoon Mikhail Khadorkovsky,
who is backing 500 candidates in four constituencies.
Despite pressure, the opposition could
demonstrate that it could be a "major obstacle to the Kremlin's
control" of parliament, where United Russia has a two-thirds majority.
Tank "In 2021, the situation will be much more critical for the
authorities."
Putin is facing a test of voters through
poisonous criticism at the hospital
Opponents of the Kremlin and the West
accuse him of being one of the most deadly critics of the deadly poison, with
President Vladimir Putin facing a key test of support in the regional elections
ahead of next year's national vote.
Nearly one-third of voters are eligible to
vote in the ballot, which begins on Friday, in which representatives at various
levels of government can be elected’ in 83 constituencies, including 18
governors.
The clash comes amid unprecedented anti-government
protests and daily protests in neighboring Belarus since July in Russia's Far
East Khabarovsk region over the arrest of a popular governor from outside the
ruling party. Analysts say authorities are doing everything possible to limit
the opposition's gains.
"There is a real threat to the
Kremlin," said Vladimir Gilman, a professor of political science at the
European University in St. Petersburg.
Putin, 67, has pushed for constitutional
changes that could extend his two-decade rule by 2036. Nevertheless, its
popularity plummeted earlier this year after falling oil prices and the spread
of the Cove-19 epidemic, a recession that could shrink the economy by about 4%
in 2020.
Opposition leader Alexei Navalny was
working to support opposition candidates for the ruling United Russia party
when he was hunted down’ in Siberia last month after German doctors identified
him as being poisoned by a military neurotransmitter, Novichok. He was born in
a coma in a Berlin hospital on Monday, where he was sent’ for treatment.
Navalny has been followed by millions of
people in Russia through online videos exposing high-level corruption. Despite
pressure from European leaders, Russia has so far failed to investigate the
matter, and has no evidence that the 44-year-old campaigner was poisoned.
In a video released during a trip to
Siberia and released after being hospitalized’ Navalny appealed to viewers to
support politicians in every field with the best chance of defeating the
Russian candidate. Take your "smart voting" step. The party lost
one-third of its seats in last year's Moscow City Council elections due to the
promotion of the tactic.
This time around, his campaign is urging
about 1,150 candidates to vote in municipal contests as a rehearsal for the
2021 autumn elections in the lower house of parliament. It has fielded
candidates in several areas, including Novosibirsk and Tomsk.
"Poisoning could lead to a major
backlash to seriously accelerate the erosion of government support," said
Ivan Zhdanov, head of Navalny's anti-corruption fund in Moscow's office.
Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the
Kremlin had no fears that Neville's illness could affect the vote. "There
are no such concerns," he told reporters in a conference call on Friday.
Putin is far more popular than United
Russia. According to independent Moscow-based pollster Levada, his ranking rose
by 6 percentage points to 66% in August, as economic activity resumed with a
slowdown in lockdown measures against the corona virus. According to the
state-run Russian Public Opinion Research Center, or VTSIOM, United Russia has
more than 31 percent support.
Although authorities have made it
difficult for opposition candidates to register, incumbent governors are still
struggling in half a dozen constituencies. These include Arctic, where
dissatisfaction with last year's catastrophic floods is high, and Arkansas,
where demonstrations thwarted landfill site plans.
Election monitors are warning of the
decision to hold a three-day referendum, including online voting. The election
is taking place in "the worst legal framework in 25 years," watchdog
Golos said.
Navalny crews have complained of attacks,
including in Novosibirsk when several volunteers fell ill after the attackers
threw a bottle of harmful substances on September 8.
A day later, police conducted more than 20
raids targeting campaigners, who support exiled tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky,
who is backing 500 candidates in four constituencies.
Despite pressure, the opposition could
demonstrate that it could be a "major obstacle to the Kremlin's
control" of parliament, where United Russia has a two-thirds majority.
Tank "In 2021, the situation will be much more critical for the
authorities."
READ MORE
0 Comments