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Sunday, September 9, 2018
02.09.2018Thousands of protesters have rallied in several Russian cities against government plans to raise the country's pension age. Despite recent pledges by President Vladimir Putin to soften the unpopular measures, many Russians are still angry.
As Russia votes, pension protests could bring surprises
08.09.2018
Without
much real competition, Russians are set to elect governors and mayors,
as well as regional and local representatives, on Sunday. But with
protests planned across the country, experts say there could be
surprises.
According to observers, the 2018 Russian election campaign was the
weakest in a long time, with no real competition in most regions, and
voter turnout expected to be low on Sunday.
"Colorful candidates and representatives of regional elites, people who could compete with those in power, were not allowed to run in the first place," said Grigory Melkonyants, co-founder of the Movement for Defense of Voters' Rights, or Golos.
"Colorful candidates and representatives of regional elites, people who could compete with those in power, were not allowed to run in the first place," said Grigory Melkonyants, co-founder of the Movement for Defense of Voters' Rights, or Golos.
According to Melkonyants, it's dangerous to run in elections without the
support of the state. Such candidates would immediately be put under
pressure by the authorities — which could include the initiation of
criminal proceedings.
Foregone conclusion, for the most part
The governors of 22 regions, including the mayor of Moscow, will be
directly elected on Sunday. In most regions, the result is already
considered a foregone conclusion.
"But there are three regions with weak governors: the Khabarovsk region,
Khakassia and the Vladimir region," Alexander Kynev, a political
scientist at the Moscow School of Economics, told DW. "I am curious to
see how constituents will vote under conditions where the challengers
are weak and the people are becoming increasingly dissatisfied."
State candidates are running nearly unopposed in the regional
parliamentary elections. Opposition candidates who were initially
admitted have since been excluded from the vote
Getting out the vote, with gifts
There is also no real competition in Moscow's mayoral election, with
observers describing the vote there as a test of the public's confidence
in the current leadership. Out of 32 candidates, only five have been
put on the ballot, including of course the incumbent, Sergei Sobyanin.
Not a single opposition candidate is in the running, such as Dmitry
Gudkov of the Party of Changes or Ilya Yashin of the Solidarnost
movement.
Melkonyants pointed out an effort to curry favor with Moscow's rich
residents: For the first time, voters will be allowed to cast ballots
from their dachas, or summer cottages, in other regions, with 209
polling stations set up across the countryside. In order to make
residents as comfortable as possible, polling stations there will remain
open for two hours longer than in the city.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin (left) enjoys the backing of Orthodox Patriarch Kirill
In addition, Moscow's city council recently announced an infrastructure
program for dacha housing estates — another attempt to woo voters.
According to Golos, local authorities will likely see voter turnout as a
strong indicator of whether their settlement will end up benefiting
from the program.
Citizens will also be lured to the ballot box with gifts. Voters under
the age of 30, for example, have been promised free tickets to concerts
by popular bands.
Protests against pension reform
Opposition leader and anti-corruption campaigner Alexei Navalny has announced election day rallies in more than 80 cities, to protest a planned hike in the retirement age.
However in most cities, including Moscow, those events haven't been
given the go-ahead — only in St. Petersburg and Cheboksary on the Volga
will the rallies be allowed.
The pension reform would raise the retirement age for women from 55 to
60, and from 60 to 65 for men. Ninety percent of Russians are against
the reforms, according to recent surveys.
President Vladimir Putin has stressed that the changes are unavoidable
due to demographic shifts. Critics, however, have pointed out that the
average life expectancy for Russian men is 66 — meaning many workers,
especially those living in poorer regions, won't even make it to the new
retirement age.
Navalny has called for protests across the country on election day
'Unpleasant surprise' in store
Navalny himself will not be able to attend the rallies, as he is currently serving 30 days in prison for
unauthorized protests in January. But a video calling for participation
in the demonstrations, and not in the elections, is being actively
distributed by Navalny's staff, including on YouTube.
Earlier this week, Russian authorities warned YouTube's parent company,
Google, over its hosting of Navalny's videos, calling it electoral
interference. "Such initiatives against Google are the result of
hysteria within the Russian authorities. But when state power becomes
nervous, people feel it," said Kynev, adding that people will then do
exactly the opposite of what the state wants.
Kynev believes this could increase turnout among protest voters, meaning
that come Monday morning, the election results in a number of regions
could be an "unpleasant surprise" for those currently in power.
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