MOSCOW | On September 8, people in Russia would vote in the municipal and regional parliamentary elections. But this year, the count down to elect the 45 members of the city “Duma”(parliament) has not been a peaceful one.
In fact it has been marked by an unexpected array of protest demonstrations, agitations and large rallies demanding free and fair polls.
Most of these rallies and protests have been answered brutally by the city administration and the crackdown between the citizens and the government has heated the political climate in Moscow. The discontent amongst the people have been growing in Moscow since mid-June and has been taken the form of large rallies and protests that have received the participation fo thousands of people from different parts of the country.
The Moscow electoral committee’s decision to deny more than 57 opposition and independent candidates a spot on the ballot for the city legislature, marked the beginning of pro- democracy protests in Moscow. Some of the most well-known figures of the opposition were also banned from running in the elections.
The discontented citizens allege that the decision of the committee is dangerous for the health of democracy in Moscow. It was only in the last week that the 6th protest against the major crackdown on democracy in Russia took place. More than 2,000 people marched in the Russian capital.
The people were protesting against the political repression of the oppression and against the jailing of liberal opposition leaders for having organised the original series of protests.
What will remain to be seen is whether these protests bring about any long term and substantial change in Russia or whether their impact only fades away with time.
