"The only worthy rival to Putin, of course, could only be me!"
February 8, the Central Election Commission refused Sergei Malinkovich, the leader of the small party "Communists of Russia," was denied registration as a candidate for the presidency of the Russian Federation. The Central Election Commission (CEC) found 8979 invalid signatures on his signature sheets, enough to deny his candidacy. Malinkovich is a relatively new figure to the general public. However, he has already made a name for himself with his statements, such as asking the Investigative Committee to investigate the death of Princess Diana and to return Alaska to the Russian Federation.
A NeMoskva correspondent interviewed the failed presidential candidate, in which the communist discussed his feelings about withdrawing from the race and assessed the remaining candidates. According to Malinkovich, Vladimir Putin has lost his main opponent.
— It wasn't entirely clear whether you were upset or not by the Central Election Commission's refusal to register. Tell us how you reacted.
"The children are upset. You understand that I and everyone who works with me are experienced politicians who have been doing this since our youth, since our Komsomol days (literally and figuratively). So there's no upset. That doesn't happen in politics. The decision was expected, unfortunately, for two reasons. First, because a working group had already been in place a few days earlier, and we were familiar with their arguments. Second, if anyone's been following us closely, we're an opposition party, and we've probably had more registration refusals in our history than any other party in elections at any level."
It's clear that both the party and I, as a candidate, intended to participate in the presidential election, but such is the fate of the opposition: they are treated with the utmost severity. If there had been a United Russia candidate, I don't know whether they would have been treated so harshly. It's best for the Central Election Commission to answer that question. So, there's no frustration. There's an understanding that we need to continue to act and simplify the procedure, including fighting to have these signatures abolished altogether. Why are they needed? Whoever wants to participate can do so. Or, at the very least, any party, in my view, should have the right to nominate a candidate without signatures.
Yes, the Central Election Commission followed procedure, but now let's discuss what the Central Election Commission is. The Central Election Commission is a body in which parliamentary parties wield significant influence because they all have representatives with decisive voting rights. All the parliamentary parties hate us. Absolutely everyone. Perhaps less so United Russia, because we're still too small a party for them. Although they don't like us either, due to ideological clashes, to put it mildly. As for those who aspire to second or third place in the political system, we have constant public conflicts with them. I still have a very intense conflict with Slutsky. Well, with the Communist Party, of course, we're competitors. Especially considering their candidate. Do they need Malinkovich? Of course not.
What can you tell your supporters and voters? Who will the Communists of Russia support?
"We haven't made any decisions yet, and it's not a given that we will. We will appeal to the public to definitely come out to the polls and vote the way each citizen feels is right for them in this situation. I think our voters will come out because they are disciplined. Some will, unfortunately, vote for the Communist Party of the Russian Federation. Although, if we had the opportunity, we would explain why that shouldn't be done."
The candidate there [Nikolai Kharitonov] is neither fish nor fowl, and they offer nothing that would help lead the country out of the economic crisis. Some will vote for Putin, of course, which is understandable, because we have plenty of people who combine leftist views and support the current president. But our voters probably won't vote for Davankov (New People) and Slutsky (LDPR). But we don't make such decisions; voting will be free for our party members.
— So, the ballot is already filled with four candidates. Do you think Kharitonov, Slutsky, and Davankov are worthy challengers to the incumbent president?
"I don't think so. The only worthy opponent for Putin, of course, would have been me! I was hoping for a second round. It's clear he would have won the first round, but he might not have gotten the necessary result against me. But how the votes would have been distributed in the second round... Second place was the main goal."
And who's his competition now? Kharitonov has absolutely no substantive speeches, no interesting ideas, no newsworthy content, nothing. So Kharitonov is a dead letter. Davankov, you see, is the party of the rich and for the rich. He always says, "Don't tell us how to live, let's loosen the screws." There are probably about 5 percent of those people left. Yes, these are people who only care about money. And no social morality. Davankov is the candidate of the "naked party." Slutsky is not Zhirinovsky; we all see and understand that. A man who barely hides his untold wealth. Just because he doesn't talk about it doesn't mean we don't know. His lordly manners and statements are the same. Therefore, in my opinion, Putin will get over 90 percent of the vote. If I were here, the odds would be different.
For reference: The Communists of Russia party was registered in 2012. In the 2018 presidential election, the party's candidate, M. Suraikin, received 0,68% of the vote.
