Election confusion in Arkhangelsk
Both acting city mayor Viktor Pavlenko and his strongest contender Larisa Bazanova claim the victory in last Sundays mayors election in Arkhangelsk. Only 70 votes separate the two candidates.
However, the Arkhangelsk election race might not be over. Mr. Pavlenko has already reported about a number of alleged election violations and now demands a recount of the casted votes.
Blow to the governor
According to Rosbaltnord.ru, the success of Ms. Bazanova is “a chock, which is developing into hysteria”, for the political elite in the region. Governor Ilya Mikhalchuk in the election campaign granted heavy support to Mr. Pavlenko and made several of the other election candidates withdraw their candidacies.
The win of Larisa Bazanova is a major blow to the governor who was appointed only one month ago. It is likely that he will do what he can to secure a change in the official results.
Bazanova and Donskoy
Meanwhile, Ms. Bazanova has already declared herself as the election winner. She does however admit to that a major psychological pressure is put on her and her family to make her give away the mayor’s post.
The win of Bazanova will significantly challenge the authorities in the region. Already before the vote, she teamed up with former mayor Aleksandr Donskoy. She also turned up at the election press conference together with Mr. Donskoy, the man who has been half a year in jail following a political motivated campaign initiated by the regional administration.
According to Kommersant, Ms. Bazanova has already offered Aleksandr Donskoy the post as deputy mayor.
New elections?
The staff of Ms. Bazanova fears that Mr. Pavlenko and regional Governor Ilya Mikhalchuk’s administration will put pressure on the local election commission and secure a subsequent change in the results. According to Kommersant, the Arkhangelsk election laws give the local election commission one week to handle election complaint. If major irregularities are found, new elections can be announced.
Only 18 percent of the Arkhangelsk electorate participated in the elections.
Read also:
Surprise win in Arkhangelsk 28 May
Arkhangelsk goes to the polls 23 May
Election time in Arkhangelsk 20 May
