The Moscow Regional Court has removed Viktor Bystrov, a Yabloko candidate, from the race for the State Duma, the lower house of Russia’s parliament, according to his lawyer, Alexander Muravyov. Bystrov was running in the Kolomna single-mandate district in the Moscow region.
The removal followed a lawsuit from Dmitry Gelevera of the Green Party, Bystrov’s rival in the district.
The court cited errors in Bystrov’s registration documents as grounds for his removal. His defense team insisted the errors stemmed from quirks in a special Central Election Commission program that automatically generates the forms.
Gelevera also accused Bystrov of infringing copyright in his campaign materials, engaging in extremism, and receiving foreign funding. The court rejected all three accusations.
Bystrov’s representatives said they would appeal the ruling.
Yabloko is the only party in the State Duma race campaigning on an antiwar platform. Its federal list was removed from the race on August 10.
In addition to Bystrov, Yabloko fielded candidates in 126 of the 225 single-mandate districts.
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