Russian courts have removed three Yabloko party candidates from the ballot in single-mandate districts, citing foreign securities holdings and alleged extremist materials.

Russian courts disqualified three candidates from the Yabloko party on the same day. The party, which is currently running on an antiwar platform in the upcoming September elections, has faced a series of legal challenges resulting in the removal of its federal list and several regional candidates.

Details of the disqualifications

In Tatarstan, the republic’s Supreme Court removed Airat Gumerbayev from the ballot following a lawsuit from the local election commission regarding his holdings of foreign securities. Similarly, the Tula Regional Court disqualified Anton Paramonov, the head of Yabloko’s regional branch, after a lawsuit filed by his rival, Svetlana Bobrovskaya of the Pensioners’ Party, also citing foreign securities. In Bashkortostan, the Supreme Court revoked the registration of Alexey Akimenko. He was accused of administering an online community that allegedly hosted extremist materials, specifically referring to the logos of social networks banned in Russia. Akimenko was competing in the same district as Rodina party chairman Alexey Zhuravlev.

Broader electoral challenges

Yabloko has stated its intention to appeal all three disqualifications. The party previously saw its federal list removed from the ballot by the Russian Supreme Court on August 10. Additionally, its regional lists have been struck from the ballot in the Pskov, Kaliningrad, and Sverdlovsk regions, as well as in Karelia. According to the party's website, Yabloko has nominated 125 single-mandate candidates across 51 regions.