The Moscow city authorities have not yet received an application for a “Voting Day” demonstration on October 20 and 21, but will not green-light any such event on Pushkin Square, first deputy regional security department director Vasily Oleynik said.
The city authorities had previously considered an application for a rally on New Pushkin Square in support of the elections by the Opposition Coordination Committee. The city authorities suggested an alternative venue for the demonstration to the south of the city center. On Friday, the opposition submitted another proposal requesting permission for an “Election Day” event on October 20 and 21 on Pushkin Square.
“We have not received anything yet, but the opposition cannot hold their event there (Pushkin Square) on October 20 and 21, because at that time there will be another charity demonstration planned by the Central District prefecture,” Oleynik said.
Elections to the Opposition Coordination Committee take place on October 20 and 21. Voting will take place in parallel on- and offline. The Opposition Coordination Committee will be elected for a year, and will comprise 45 people, 30 drawn from a general list, and five from each of three groups according to their ideological leaning (left, center, nationalist). Two hundred and sixteen candidates have put themselves forward, including leading opposition figures such as Ilya Ponomarev, Dmitry Gudkov, Alexei Navalny, Sergei Udaltsov, and Ksenia Sobchak.