Russians vote in dozens of local elections targeted by Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny

On September 13, Russians voted in several local elections targeted by Navalny that will gauge the ruling United Russia party’s power and people’s discontent following the suspected “intentional poisoning” of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny with ‘Novichok’. According to state-run media reports, nearly 160,000 candidates are vying for Russia’s parliament seats, as well as several governors are being elected. Many regions had communist or nationalist political players for Navalny’s campaign that raises speculations that this could be the reason for Putin’s political rival’s nearly fatal attack. 

The 44-year-old critic of Putin had sought to weaken United Russia's grip on regional power and had urged the citizens and supporters to vote against the ruling party. He had then fainted on a commercial plane. Germany confirmed the nerve agent Novichok poisoning as the cause of Navalny’s coma and termed it as “an attempt to murder,” after which, a condemnation against Russia erupted worldwide by the international communities. Germany’s chancellor Merkel called for a thorough Russian investigation. According to reports, the EU, NATO, and several Western governments have asked Moscow to provide an explanation. 

Read: Russian Opposition Continues With Navalny In Coma

Read: Kremlin Warns West Against Jumping To Conclusions On Navalny Amid Sanction Talks

However, Russia accused Berlin of failing to share “solid evidence and openly rejected accusations that Russian leader Putin was responsible for the poisoning of his political rival. In an address to the press, Kremlin said there were no grounds for sanctions to be imposed against Moscow. Further, Russia trashed the allegations of “intentional poisoning” of Navalny by state authorities. On September 12, Navalny’s allies urged the Kremlin critics for a "smart voting" strategy as it designated thousands of pro-Navalny politicians on the ballots asking supporters to vote them in a huge turnout. The anti-corruption campaigner had umpteen allies contesting seats in the city councils of Novosibirsk and Tomsk in Siberia, according to state-run reports.

Use of chemical weaponry

Earlier, condemning Russia’s government, EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell called for sanctions. He demanded a joint international response that reserves the right to take appropriate actions, including through restrictive measures. He said in a press release, "The use of chemical weapons is completely unacceptable under any circumstances, constitutes a serious breach of international law and international human rights standards.” Further, the European Union officials called on Russia for an independent international probe and urged to cooperate with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

Read: NATO Chief Jens Stoltenberg On Poisoning Of Navalny

Read: German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas Slams Russia On Navalny Probe Claim, Pipeline