Russia’s Central Election Commission has approved more than 400 candidates from Yabloko, the country’s oldest liberal political party, to run in September’s parliamentary elections on a pro-peace platform, the party said Wednesday.
Yabloko Chairman Nikolai Ryabkov said the decision gives Russians their first opportunity in five years “to vote for peace and freedom, offering a legal and safe way to advocate for a ceasefire agreement.”
The party’s registration allows 269 candidates on its federal list and 135 single-mandate candidates to compete nationwide for seats in the State Duma, Russia’s lower house of parliament.
Election authorities had flagged discrepancies in application documents for 25 Yabloko candidates earlier in July, but only one candidate was disqualified after the commission certified the party’s revised filings.
Yabloko said it still expects a “difficult campaign” ahead of the Sept. 20 elections. “Reading your comments and letters, we know we’re going to walk this path together,” the party said.
The federal approval contrasts sharply with the hurdles facing Yabloko candidates in regional and local races set to take place alongside the parliamentary elections. Dozens of party members have seen their applications rejected at the local level, blocking them from the ballot.
In addition to Yabloko, election officials have cleared the ruling United Russia party, the Communist Party, the nationalist Liberal Democratic Party, the center-right New People and the left-leaning A Just Russia to compete in September. Two other parties currently without State Duma representation were also approved to run candidates.
Russian authorities have jailed several prominent Yabloko members in recent years on charges connected to their criticism of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
