It is with deep satisfaction that I want to announce the signing of a document that resolves the opposition’s most important question: how to contest the 2016 State Duma elections?
As you know, there are several parties that are genuinely in opposition; some are officially registered, some are not. Some are allowed to participate in elections, others are not. The question of choosing a single party that will serve as the legal platform for a broad opposition list concerns everyone. It is not a simple issue, but it must be resolved in order to eliminate any uncertainty and concentrate all resources in one direction rather than scattering them.
Today, the leaders of the RPR-PARNAS party and the Progress Party—that is, Mikhail Kasyanov and I—signed a document stating that for the 2016 elections and the 2015 regional elections, we will run on the basis of RPR-PARNAS.
There are two signatures so far, but more participants were involved in the negotiations, and we expect other players to join the agreement.
In effect, we are creating a political bloc that allows us to preserve the existing structures and avoid lengthy, costly (and risky) legal wrangling over formal mergers, while giving us the ability to address the truly important issues of party lists, candidates, and nominations.
Let me remind you that under current law, RPR-PARNAS has what is known as a signature exemption (thanks to Boris Nemtsov’s parliamentary mandate) and can register candidates for the State Duma elections without collecting signatures.
Several key points:
This is not a merger of PARNAS and the Progress Party—it is the creation of a common structure that will make it possible for all the best representatives of the opposition to run in the elections, regardless of party affiliation. The lists will be formed not according to the principle of party hierarchy, but on the basis of competition (primaries, polling analysis, and other similar procedures).
This is not a "new liberal party," but a broad democratic coalition in which social democrats, liberals, and European-style conservatives can all coexist comfortably. Once again, the lists will include the best people—the ones who will bring in votes—not those pointed to by party bosses. Some quotas may exist to guarantee the unification process, but they will be limited.
As early as the upcoming regional elections in September 2015, we will put forward joint lists in a number of regions and do everything possible to ensure that they are truly people’s lists—that is, that they include the most respected and popular local politicians and activists capable of winning voter support. We will take these elections seriously and will not let them drift. The specific regions will be announced soon.
I am absolutely convinced that our new arrangement can become the long-awaited mechanism that will help secure political representation for us—for the millions of ordinary citizens who now look on in horror at that madhouse called the "legislative branch of Russia," filled with crooks, freaks, and clowns who represent no one at all except their Kremlin bosses.
Text of the agreement signed today:
Update: The Democratic Choice party is ready to join the coalition