Russian liberal opposition party barred from elections

Dmitry Medvedev’s support for democracy rings hollow as his justice ministry refuses to register People’s Freedom party for this year’s polls President Dmitry Medvedev’s attempts to portray Russia as a flourishing democracy were dealt another blow when a liberal opposition party was barred from taking part in forthcoming elections. Medvedev has promised to increase political competition but the justice ministry announced in a statement that it was refusing to register the People’s Freedom party (PFP), a coalition whose leaders include the former prime minister Mikhail Kasyanov, and activist Boris Nemtsov. The ministry said that the party could not be registered because some listed members were under-age, some were “dead souls” – already deceased at the time of the party’s founding conference in December – and some did not live at the addresses provided in documents filed by the party. It also identified other alleged violations. Kasyanov accused the prime minister, Vladimir Putin, of engineering the refusal because the PFP posed “serious risks” for him. “It’s clear that Putin has taken the decision not to allow our party to take part in the elections,” Kasyanov said, adding that as a result the parliamentary poll this December “cannot be considered fair”. Vladimir Ryzhkov, another leader of the party, said that launching an appeal would be pointless. “To apply to the courts now would mean going in a vicious circle and like a sheep running again and again into the same gate,” he said. The polls are expectedto be a pallid affair. Last month, Putin created the All-Russia People’s Front to boost the flagging fortunes of his United Russia party, which dominates the duma and should preserve a large swath of seats. Also last month, the billionaire metals tycoon Mikhail Prokhorov agreed to head Right Cause, a small party that appears to support Medvedev’s modernising agenda. The Communist party, the misleadingly named Liberal Democratic party headed by ultra-nationalist Vladimir Zhirinovksy, and the Fair Russia party will also compete as nominal opponents to United Russia. Critics say the Kremlin has consistently quelled sharply oppositionist parties in recent years by refusing registration and imposing other legal obstacles to participation in elections. In April, the European court of human rights ruled that the dissolution of Ryzhkov’s Republican party in 2007 was unjustified. Russia Dmitry Medvedev Vladimir Putin Tom Parfitt guardian.co.uk

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