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By Mike Eckel
Twelve days after Vladivostok voters overwhelmingly rejected all candidates for the post of mayor, the elections remain mired in legal rulings, with no end in sight. Primorye's highest court Oct. 5 rejected Mayor Viktor Cherepkov's appeal of the Krai Electoral Commission ruling to strike his name from ballots in mayoral elections. Siding with krai commission chairman Sergei Knyazev, Judge Vladimir Sotnikov upheld the Sept. 25 ruling by the Leninsky District Court that disqualified Cherepkov from the election, on the grounds that the mayor violated election law. Cherepkov, in Moscow for a meeting of the Union of Russian Cities when the decision was handed down, said through a spokesman that it amounted to "gross interference in the voting campaign process and a flagrant violation of voters' rights." Cherepkov said he planned to appeal to the federal Supreme Court. After 54 percent of voters rejected all candidates in the Sept. 27 election, the City Electoral Commission postponed naming a date for new elections until Oct. 13. Commissioner Sergei Shershenskov said the reason for the postponement was to avoid having the date - which the law states must be three months from when the decision is made - conflict with the New Year's holidays. The Primorye regional Duma took up the issue of the controversial elections at it monthly session Sept. 30-Oct. 1. The Duma asked the Federal Electoral Commission to scrutinize the krai commission's decision to strike Cherepkov's name from the ballot the day before the election. Cherepkov has also registered as a candidate for City Duma in upcoming elections Oct. 18. A total of 135 candidates have registered as candidates for the 22 seats on the municipal legislative body, which has not convened since 1993.
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