Murmansk goes to the polls
Current Murmansk city mayor Mikhail Savchenko and former deputy governor Sergey Subbotin both accuse each other of using dirty tricks in the ongoing Murmansk city election campaign. On Sunday the local electorate will decide who of the two men are to become Murmansk mayor.
None of the men got the necessary 50 percent of votes in the first election round on March 1. Savchenko got 31 percent, while Subbotin won 24 percent. That opens up for a close race in Sunday’s vote. While Savchenko is the official candidate of the United Russia Party, Mr. Subbotin runs as an independent. The latter does however have the clear support of regional Governor Yevdokimov. As BarentsObserver has reported, the election campaign has been full of scandals. Governor Yevdokimov’s criticism of the methods used by United Russia in the campaign has been met by fierce reactions from the party. Sources in the Kremlin have signaled that Yevdokimov will not sit much longer as regional governor, and the United Russia has openly said that they intend to force the governor resign. Both Savchenko and Subbotin in their election campaign express their loyalty to Premier Vladimir Putin and President Dmitry Medvedev. Still, the election result will give an indication of the political preferences of the Murmansk population, as well as its support of the United Russia Party.
