Gubernatorial challenger in Primorye who narrowly lost under suspicious circumstances says he won't settle for lieutenant governor

Andrey Ishchenko says he’s rejected an offer from acting Primorye Governor Andrey Tarasenko to serve as his lieutenant governor. “I told them to buzz off,” Ishchenko told the newspaper Kommersant, saying he was approached by “people from Tarasenko’s entourage.” (Tarasenko’s spokespeople did not confirm the offer.)

On Sunday, September 18, Ishchenko narrowly lost Primorye’s runoff gubernatorial race to Tarasenko, after a last-minute shift in the race, when the incumbent governor suddenly and suspiciously pulled ahead.

On September 18, Russia’s Central Election Commission announced that 100 percent of voting precincts had reported their results, cementing Tarasenko’s victory with 49.55 percent of the vote (0.5 percent higher than Ishchenko). Federal election officials did not, however, say if they consider these results to be final. Russian Central Election Commissioner Ella Pamfilova previously teased the possibility that her agency might not recognize the reported tally.