MOSCOW, March 1 (Itar-Tass) — The opposition is preparing massive rallies and is proceeding to “the ultimatum regime,” State Duma deputy member Ilya Ponomarev (A Just Russia) has said at a press conference.
“Manezhnaya Square does not need traffic closures, and it is suitable for mass actions, and security of the place was confirmed by the Moscow mayor’s office that authorised an action there of a pro-Kremlin movement in the morning of March 5,” he said, explaining the motives of the opposition, that as an ultimatum demands to allow it to stage a rally in Manezhnaya Square in the evening of March 5. Ponomarev also said that members of the organising committee of protest actions are currently meeting with representatives of the Moscow mayor’s office.
“In a normal political process the united opposition would have had nothing in common with Nemtsov or Ryzhkov, or with the nationalists. We, the Left, cannot have anything in common (with them). But we all want transparent elections,” Ponomarev said. “We have prepared a corps of observers and a system of electronic vote counting “Open Elections” and by 01:00 - 02:00 a.m. on March 5 we will have the results of voting across the country,” said the parliamentarian.
He stressed that “the opposition is committed to ensure law and order in the streets of Moscow.” “People will all the same come out in the streets, either to celebrate a victory or to express their attitude to the counting of votes,” the lawmaker said. “On March 8, 9 and 10, as many as 300,000 people will take to the streets in Moscow to take part in rallies, and if there is an attempt to declare one candidate’s victory in the first round – 500,000 people will come,” Ponomarev believes.