MOSCOW, January 17 (Itar-Tass) — The Left Front movement and the CPRF public council in support of Gennady Zyuganov as presidential candidate signed on Tuesday an agreement on joint moves during the election campaign.
“We all understand today that only Zyuganov has the biggest chance to give battle (to United Russia Party’s candidate Prime Minister Vladimir Putin),” Left Front leader Sergei Udaltsov said at a news conference on Tuesday. He reminded the audience that the Communist Party came second after United Russia at the Duma election.
He also made it clear that Left Front would offer other public organizations to sign that agreement. Udaltsov believes that ahead of the March 4 presidential election in Russia, “stakes must be put on the most popular person, even if you don’t share his views”.
“We have closely looked into Udaltsov’s statement. I believe today we are facing an important historical moment,” Zyuganov stressed, for his part. Under the text of the agreement, the elected president must immediately set free political prisoners, sack the head of the Central Election Commission, Vladimir Churov, as well as drastically change the legislation on elections and political parties.
Initial demands also included the stepping down of the president ahead of time and early parliamentary and presidential elections on the basis of a new legislation. But, according to Udaltsov, this is the only point on which consultations continue, and it is not included in the agreement signed on Tuesday. “Gennady Alexandrovich has his own view of the problem. But I don’t believe it is the issue that will become a stumbling block,” Udaltsov said.
Earlier, the CPRF leader repeatedly stated that in case of his victory he would dissolve the State Duma, but made it clear that he would not step down as president, as Udaltsov had offered, in exchange for “support of the civil society”.
“This can cause paralysis of power and paralyze the huge country,” Zyuganov explained. “If the crowd rules in the streets, we know how it happened in our history. It is inadmissible to repeat such mistakes,” he stressed.
Udaltsov and the chairman of the CPRF public committee, Duma deputy Vadim Kumin, inked the agreement. Now the council must initiate an open meeting with organizers of the civil campaign “For Fair Elections” to sign an agreement “with an aim to unite efforts of the civil society and fight against election falsifications”.
Under the document, the Left Front commits itself to forming a wide bloc of public forces “in support of peaceful democratic transformations, of which presidential candidate Gennady Zyuganov is guarantor”. Left Front members will also participate in monitoring the presidential election of March 4.