Boycott Call Did Not Depress Ingush Voter Participation by Much if at All

Paul Goble

            Staunton, September 9 – Three leading Ingush opposition groups called for a boycott of yesterday’s municipal elections. But despite that, republic election officials say, 68.35 percent of all voters turned out, more than 35 percent greater than the all-Russian average for this kind of poll (kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/340048/).

            Historically, Ingush like most North Caucasian nations, have cast a higher percentage of the vote than people in other parts of Russia; and it is entirely possible that the authorities have falsified this number as they have done in the past, especially in order to undermine the standing of opposition groups. But it does appear the boycott call has not worked as its authors hoped (ingushetia.ru/news/v_ingushetii_podveli_predvaritelnye_itogi_golosovaniya_na_vyborakh_v_organy_mestnogo_samoupravleniya/).

            Meanwhile, a Russian court in Essentuki extended the detention of Zarifa Sautiyeva, the archivist activist who is the only Ingush woman now being held for opposition activity, by three months until December 11 despite the appeals of her lawyers and the hopes of her friends and supporters that she would be released to house arrest (kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/340042/).

            Because that action came the day after the elections, commentator Anton Chablin says, it dashed any hopes that Ingush may have had that Kalimatov’s confirmation as leader would lead to a softening in the regime’s approach to opposition. If anything, he says, this action means things may get still worse (6portal.ru/posts/магасское-дело-силовики-прячут-кон/).