MOSCOW, Oct. 11 -- Russia's Central Election Commission officials Monday refused registration for ultranationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky's Liberal Democratic Party (LDPR) in upcoming December parliamentary elections after two of the three top party candidates were barred outright from running. The commission ruled out the participation in the polls of industrialist Anatoly Bykov, currently wanted by law enforcement agencies and in hiding abroad, and Mikhail Musatov, an incumbent Duma legislator accused of failing to include several limousines in a list of declared property. Failure of even one of the top three candidates in the party list to pass the registration process invalidates the entire party list, according to Russian electoral law. The barring of two of the three top candidates ensures the LDPR is out of the race, at least for the moment. An enraged Zhirinovsky vowed to appeal the commission's decision in the Supreme Court and said his party would take part in parliamentary elections, 'even if we have to go under a different flag.' Zhirinovsky said he was ready to form a new electoral 'Zhirinovsky bloc' in place of the barred LDPR, if he had to. Zhirinovsky's decision to include such a shady character as Bykov in the party list raised eyebrows early on, and it now turns out the doubts over LDPR's registration were well-founded. Bykov failed to declare property registered in his name, and the law enforcement authorities believe he owns property worth millions of dollars in the United States and Greece. The media have implied that Bykov paid Zhirinovsky handsomely for the number two slot, in order to win parliamentary immunity and escape prosecution.
The commission officials had a bone to pick with Zhirinovsky himself, at one point claiming that he owned 250 cars which he failed to declare, but agreed to continue investigating after the flamboyant politician argued that the disputed automobiles were the party's property, or had been stolen. Zhirinovsky's party currently controls a large number of seats in the Duma, but the extremist politician's support has dwindled since the 1995 parliamentary elections, when the LDPR gathered 11 percent of the vote. The latest polls suggest his group will get between 4 and 7 percent of the vote in the December elections. Zhirinovsky must settle his dispute with the electoral authorities and win registration for his LDPR or a newly formed political bloc by Oct. 24 to participate in the Dec. 19 elections. ---
Copyright 1999 by United Press International. All rights reserved. ---
