Russian election officials in one region forgot to put two candidates on the ballot. Now the vote is postponed until 2027.
Officials in Russia’s Kirov region have postponed a legislative election in single-mandate district No. 25 until 2027 after two registered candidates were left off the ballot.
The ballot omitted Eduard Plastin of Russia’s Communist Party (KPRF) and Ivan Piskunov of the Pensioners’ Party, both of whom had already been registered and cleared to run. Their absence from the ballot was only noticed after voting began.
Galina Burkova, chair of the regional election commission, called it a “technical error.” The local KPRF branch stated that it was “forgotten” to include the candidates’ names.
Officials halted the vote after consulting with the Central Election Commission and party representatives, and set a new election for September 2027, when the region is also due to elect a governor and city council deputies.
KPRF quoted Plastin as saying, “A great deal of work was done with residents, and in the end they were denied the chance to vote. This undermines trust in elections.”
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