All news

Just Russia decided on candidate for presidential election

Leader of the Just Russia party Sergei Mironov was nominated as a presidential candidate at the party congress

MOSCOW, December 12 (Itar-Tass) — On Saturday, leader of the Just Russia party Sergei Mironov was nominated as a presidential candidate at the party congress.

In the event of victory he will offer the prime minister’s post to the head of the St. Petersburg branch of the party, Oksana Dmitriyeva. Earlier, analysts speculated that the party could nominate as its candidate Dmitriyeva, who would have more chances of getting the protest vote at the election, and possibly, to prevent Vladimir Putin’s victory in the first round.

On Saturday, the Just Russia party summed up the Duma campaign results and nominated a presidential candidate, Kommersant writes. The main intrigue of the congress was virtually exhausted when the party’s chairman Nikolai Levichev said before its opening that Sergei Mironov will be the presidential candidate. Earlier, Mironov spoke about two candidates: himself and the leader of the St. Petersburg branch of Just Russia, Oksana Dmitriyeva. MP Gennady Gudkov was named as another potential candidate. A congress participant told the publication that a formal decision on nominating Sergei Mironov was made before the congress at the presidium of the party’s Central Council. According to the party member, the meeting was chaired by Levichev who made it clear that the alternative candidates could make Vladimir Putin “angry.” As a result, the candidature of Sergei Mironov was the only one for which the party members voted unanimously.

“The congress of Just Russia has once again shown that it is the left leg of the ruling party,” State Duma deputy, secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party (CPRF) Sergei Obukhov told the newspaper. “And Mironov during the presidential election will be a sparring partner for Putin.” The campaign could be tougher, “if Dmitriyeva and Gudkov were nominated,” believes the CPRF member.

There was an impression that as they are getting closer to the ruling party in the number of votes, the Just Russia party members are becoming more similar to it, RBC Daily writes. And even the presidential candidate’s headquarters head will be Rimma Markova, an actress, who will turn 87 just before the elections – on March 3, 2012. Mironov did not hide the fact that this variant is a counterbalance to film director Stanislav Govorukhin, 75, who, as is known, heads the election headquarters of Vladimir Putin.

Behind the scenes, the party members almost unanimously admitted that they have no other candidate than Mironov. “The whole country should know the candidate. Oksana Dmitriyeva, who was also named a possible presidential candidate, for instance, is known only in St. Petersburg and Moscow,” former member of the State Duma Alexei Mitrofanov said.