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Vladivostok Mayor Victor Cherepkov rescheduled mayoral and city Duma elections for the middle of October, he announced Feb. 5. The decision followed a recent court order that canceled a mayoral vote set for late March this year.

The court said Cherepkov could not hold elections for mayor while he is still in power. He scheduled them last fall, after promising to resign.

But even though Cherepkov never stepped down, he didn't change the March election date. Legal elections for mayor were long ago set for June, when Cherepkov's term ends.

The mayor fought hard to retain the March mayoral elections. He believed that the Krai Elections Commission, which pushed most to cancel the vote, was out to get him

"They know that I have a high rating and, without favorable alternatives, fear that I will win elections and lead the city for another five years," he said in a recent press conference. "They want to draw out the date of the elections to prepare for them."

He added that he only benefits from attacks by the Duma.

"The more dirt they heap on the mayor, the higher goes our rating," Cherepkov said. "If elections were to occur today, our victory would occur without a doubt."

But Sergei Knyazev, head of the Krai Election Commission, believes the mayor knew that scheduling early elections was illegal. "His goal was political," Knyazev said. "With that step, the mayor said that he is ready to hold elections early, but those who seek the cancellation apparently look like they fear that no competition is visible for those elections."

After the court made its decision, Cherepkov delayed City Duma elections as well. He argued that a krai court decision to split the city into five independent municipal districts would render a March vote illegal.

"[The court says] the municipal formation of Vladivostok is independent and not subordinate to me," Cherepkov said in a recent press conference. "And the prosecutor argues that my orders on these territories don't exist. How is it possible to hold elections in these conditions in these territories?"

But a federal court in Vladivostok already ruled that the city's division was legal and elections could proceed. Cherepkov will now appeal his case in Russia's constitutional court.

The mayor also said the City Duma's current makeup must be considered before elections. The 22 member body has not been filled for five years, though three members were elected in 1996 and early 1997. The city must decide what to do about these three elected officials before proceeding.

But the State Election Commission will oppose the mayor's decision, Knyazev said. On Feb. 1, Knyazev entered a complaint in federal court, claiming that Cherepkov's move is illegal.

"No one is debating his right to challenge these laws at the same time or separately in court," Knyazev said. "But the court alone has the right to cancel elections or to delay them to another time."