Central Electoral Commission orders cancellation of Moscow suburb election after four pro-Navalny candidates protest

Russia's Central Electoral Commission (CEC) has ordered the Odintsovsky District Election Commission to call off early elections for city council deputies in Barvikha, a suburb west of Moscow.

Anti-corruption crusader Alexei Navalny is hailing the call to cancel the Barvikha city council elections as a victory for his Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK). Four members of the FBK were competing for seats on the Barvikha city council. All four had dropped out from the early elections on April 19 in protest.

The elections were to be held April 24, 2016.

“The CEC has complied with the demands of our candidates, who withdrew yesterday from the elections in protest, and cancelled the elections in Barvikha,” Navalny wrote on his website this afternoon.

The four FBK candidates had cited numerous election violations.

“[We] order the election commission for the Moscow region Odintsovsky District to immediately cancel decisions made by the Barvikha election commission,” said the CEC in a statement.