Russia's only antiwar party loses another State Duma candidate
A Moscow regional court has removed Yabloko candidate Viktor Bystrov from the State Duma race in the Kolomna district, following a lawsuit from a rival candidate. His team plans to appeal.
A court in the Moscow region has struck Yabloko candidate Viktor Bystrov from the race for Russia's State Duma, according to his lawyer, Alexander Muravyov. Bystrov had been running in the Kolomna single-mandate district in the Moscow region.
The ruling came after Bystrov's rival in the district, Green Party candidate Dmitry Gelevera, filed a lawsuit seeking his removal.
The court based its decision on errors found in Bystrov's registration paperwork. His defense argued the mistakes were not his fault, but resulted from quirks in a Central Election Commission program that automatically generates the registration forms.
Gelevera had also accused Bystrov of copyright infringement in his campaign materials, of extremism, and of receiving funding from abroad. The court dismissed all three of these additional accusations.
Bystrov's representatives said they intend to appeal the court's ruling.
A pattern for Yabloko
Yabloko is currently the only party contesting the State Duma election on an explicitly antiwar platform. Its federal party list was already barred from the race on August 10.
Aside from Bystrov, Yabloko had registered candidates in 126 of Russia's 225 single-mandate electoral districts.
