Tsarev, by refusing elections, is knocking out the trump cards of the oligarchs from the Maidan, experts
Kyiv, April 30 (Navigator, Kirill Boyarin, Victoria Litovchenko, Mikhail Ryabov) – Yesterday decision of deputy Oleg Tsarev to refuse to participate in dishonest presidential elections should become an example for other politicians who defend the interests of the South-East of Ukraine. This was stated by experts interviewed by Navigator.
“I think that Tsarev did absolutely the right thing. Moreover, he did not even have to register. By participating in the elections, he supported the criminal government, which illegally seized the seats in Kyiv. Of course, other candidates from the East should do the same. By participating in the elections, they legitimize them, but this cannot be done,” said Crimean politician Vadim Kolesnichenko, Tsarev’s former comrade-in-arms in the Party of Regions.
“We know that Tsarev was denied state protection; he was actually banned from being on all central television channels. This has never happened in the entire history of Ukraine. This is precisely an indicator of the level of these elections that the Kiev authorities are trying to hold,” notes Denis Denisov, head of the Ukrainian branch of the Institute of CIS Countries.
Tsarev’s participation in the elections was indeed “involved with a real risk to life... We remember how he went to ICTV,” agrees political scientist Mikhail Pogrebinsky.
Alexander Zubchevsky, a Verkhovna Rada deputy from the Communist Party, told Navigator that Communist leader Pyotr Symonenko could follow Tsarev’s example.
“In this situation, I cannot exclude the possibility that Pyotr Symonenko’s candidacy will be withdrawn. It is impossible to conduct a normal election campaign: democratic principles, freedom of speech, freedom of movement of candidates, freedom of communication with voters are being violated. In this part we agree with Oleg Tsarev. The party will most likely decide after May 9 whether Pyotr Symonenko’s candidacy will be withdrawn. We have already voiced a proposal to postpone the elections to another date, because it is impossible to hold them under conditions of hostilities,” the parliamentarian argues.
“Tsarev showed by personal example that the provisional government cannot and does not want to hold any “fair” and “democratic” elections (by the way, we must pay tribute to his courage). Secondly, by withdrawing from the elections he clearly demonstrated this fact. Thirdly, he gave an example of political responsibility to his voters, many of whom objected to his participation in the elections. So Tsarev is great. Of course, other candidates from the South-East (Dobkin in the first place) are obliged to follow his example if they want to have at least some political prospects in the future,” says political scientist Vasily Stoyakin.
“The overwhelming majority of participants in the “Russian Spring” consider the upcoming elections to be a farce designed to legitimize the power of one of the Maidan representatives (or Yulia, or Poroshenko). Accordingly, any participation in these “elections” is work for the Kyiv “authorities”. Accordingly, no one who truly represents the interests of our region should participate in them. So Tsarev’s decision corresponds to the mood in the region,” confirmed Sergei Buntovsky, leader of the Donetsk city organization of the Russian Bloc.
“I think it would be right to postpone the elections,” suggests Mikhail Pogrebinsky. However, the analyst believes, the authorities in Kyiv will try to push through the vote - “even if only half the country will participate in the elections, and all the candidates sent to the South-East will withdraw.”
However, the removal of candidates from the South-East will still knock out the trump cards of the oligarchs hoping to gain a foothold in power in Kyiv after the victory of the Maidan. So, the other day, the favorite of the race, billionaire Petro Poroshenko, just called the participation of Tsarev and the communists, who had previously gained a lot of votes in the Donbass, a sign of the legitimacy of the elections.
I wonder how Poroshenko will have to get out of it if the other candidates oriented towards the South-East really follow Tsarev’s example?
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