Thursday, December 13, 2007

CHESS NEWS Kasparov Ends Bid For Presidency


By ANDREW E. KRAMER
Published: December 13, 2007
MOSCOW — Garry Kasparov, the opposition leader and former chess champion, said Wednesday that he had been forced to withdraw his candidacy for president of Russia because his political movement had been unable to rent a hall in Moscow for a nominating convention, a requirement under Russian law.
A spokeswoman for Mr. Kasparov said the Kremlin had pressed landlords to refuse to rent to his organization, Other Russia, a problem his campaign confronted before when it tried to hold political meetings.
Mr. Kasparov, who retired from professional chess in 2005, accuses the government of President Vladimir V. Putin of undermining the democratic institutions established after the Soviet Union’s collapse.
From early on, his campaign encountered many problems. He was denied access to state news media; one of his political organizers was forcibly committed to an insane asylum; and Mr. Kasparov and dozens of his followers were arrested during street protests during the spring.
Mr. Kasparov spent five days in jail last month after trying to march on a Moscow street.
To formally register for the March 2 presidential vote, he would have been required to notify the Central Election Commission of his intention to hold a gathering with 500 citizens to endorse his candidacy. The deadline was Wednesday, but Other Russia was unable to rent a hall in Moscow to accommodate the gathering, according to Mr. Kasparov’s spokeswoman, Lyudmila V. Mamina.
Other Russia, a loose coalition of opposition figures, is not registered as a political party. Under Russian law, a candidate who is not nominated by a party with seats in Parliament must get the support of at least 500 people at an “initiative group” meeting.
Private landlords refused to rent space, Ms. Mamina said in a telephone interview. “It was clear that there had been an order from above to prohibit us from gathering anywhere.”
“Everybody refuses when they hear the name Kasparov,” she said.
At a gathering of Russian reformist parties and nongovernmental organizations, Mr. Kasparov said: “We pay and the people agree. There are no problems,” Agence France-Presse reported. “And then they call us to say they are refusing, can’t give us the hall any more.”
Ms. Mamina said the election commission had also turned down a suggestion by Other Russia to hold several smaller gatherings simultaneously, perhaps in private apartments.
On Monday, Mr. Putin endorsed the presidential candidacy of Dmitri A. Medvedev, the first deputy prime minister, virtually assuring Mr. Medvedev’s ascension to the top office.

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