September 9, 2013 -- Updated 1040 GMT (1840 HKT)
A former presidential aide and interim mayor of Moscow Sergey Sobyanin
won the mayoral race in Moscow against blogger and anti-corruption
activist Alexey Navalny. FULL STORY
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KASPAROV: CRACKS IN PUTIN'S RUSSIA
Sergei Sobyanin wins Moscow mayoral election
September 9, 2013 -- Updated 1014 GMT (1814 HKT)
Alexei Navalny prepares to cast his ballot during a mayoral election in Moscow, on September 8, 2013, with his daughter, Dasha.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Sergey Sobyanin wins election with more than 51% of vote
- Blogger and anti-corruption activist Alexey Navalny scores 27%
- Navalny has been convicted for embezzlement, but ran while out on bail
- Despite Navalny's loss, some call it a breakthrough
The only question was by how much. Anything less than 50% would have meant a run-off election.
There will not be a run-off. Sobyanin squeaked by with 51.37% of the vote. Navalny won 27.24%.
Russian opposition leader out of prison
Pavel Khodorkovsky on Navalny verdict
Calling the preliminary
results "sheer falsifications" Navalny demanded the annulment of
"off-site" elections, in which voters are allowed to vote at home,
without having to come to polling stations. "We also demand a second
round of voting for the election," he said.
Navalny can ask for a
re-count but there is little chance he will get a run-off. Putin can
rest assured that his man will retain the powerful post of Moscow mayor.
But the opposition are taking heart from Navalyny's strong showing.
As Ksenya Sobchak, once
Russia's "Paris Hilton" and now a vocal member of the opposition
tweeted: "Now, Alexey is a politician of federal standing, and prison is
unthinkable."
Up to now, Navalyny was
known mainly in Moscow and St. Petersburg as a crusader against
government corruption, calling out politicians for illegal behavior. He
was a leader of the 2012 street demonstrations in Moscow, motivating
educated, middle-class young people in Russia's big cities with blogs
and Tweets.
Kremlinologist Olga
Kryshtanovskaya, in post-election Tweet, said "Navalny's high results in
the election is directly connected to his activity in the social
media."
In a striking political anomaly, the 37-year-old Navalny ran for mayor as a convicted man, currently on bail after being sentenced to five years in prison for embezzlement. He claims the charges were politically inspired to sideline him from politics and is appealing the sentence.
Before the mayoral vote
some observers predicted that, if Navalny's supporters felt the election
had been stolen, they would turn out again for street protests. A
demonstration was planned in advance for Monday evening.
But some Kremlin opponents don't sound that angry; they're taking heart from the vote totals.
In another Tweet Ksenya
Sobchak said "It was understood right from the beginning that they would
do absolutely everything to avoid a second round, isn't that true? But
the fact that Navalyny got more than 27% -- that's cool!"
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