The American Committee for Peace in the Caucasus

ACPC Weekly News UPDATE
December 21, 2009 – December 27, 2009

Dagestan Supreme Court’s decision to uphold ruling seen as an affront to United Russia Party
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court of Dagestan upheld the decision by the municipal court in Derbent that annulled the results of the mayoral election held on October 11. Official results from the election, confirmed by Dagestan’s election commission, showed that the incumbent mayor from the United Russia party, Feliks Gaziakhmedov, had won 67% of the vote. However, independent election observers claimed that widespread violations took place during the vote prompting opposition candidates to challenge the results in court.

On December 4, the Derbent city court ruled in favor of the plaintiff and annulled the election results. The incumbent mayor immediately appealed the decision to Dagestan’s Supreme Court, which affirmed the ruling of the lower court. The development is unprecedented for Dagestan and the North Caucasus region given historically widespread voting irregularities there. Additionally, upholding a court decision against the ruling party is seen as a direct challenge to United Russia’s political monopoly and a setback for Dagestan’s president Mukhu Aliyev who seeks re-appointment in 2010. Despite the available legal option of appealing to Russia’s Supreme Court, the United Russia party issued a statement agreeing with the decision of the lower court. Dagestan’s election commission has four months to prepare for a new mayoral election.

Related articles:

Derbent to hold re-election of mayor
Kommersant, December 24, 2009 (in Russian)

Daghestani court annuls mayoral election results due to fraud
RFE/RL, December 7, 2009

President Medvedev’s ‘silver bullet’ for North Caucasus misses the mark
During a televised Q&A session with Russia’s state-run TV anchors on December 24, President Medvedev reiterated his earlier pledge to appoint a single official responsible for the North Caucasus region, which he referred to earlier as Russia’s “most serious domestic political problem.” Mr. Medvedev did not specify details about the position’s mandate or give any concrete timeframe for the appointment. President Medvedev also reaffirmed that improving the dismal socio-economic situation is the federal government’s top priority, citing it as the main reason behind rising violence and militant activity in the North Caucasus.

Although North Caucasus experts and human rights activists have also acknowledged the socio-economic situation as a contributing factor to the deteriorating security situation in the region, they insist that it is only part of the problem and cite pervasive corruption, the inept justice system, and grave human rights violations among other main reasons. They expressed concern and disappointment that President Medvedev has failed to take these factors into account and raised skepticism about the effectiveness of his call for a revamped North Caucasus strategy that only focuses on one aspect of the problem.