A candidate running in a local election in St. Petersburg who faced two challengers with the same name in what was an apparent attempt to confuse voters and siphon off support has lost as have the other two.
Three Boris Vishnevskys were running for seats on the St. Petersburg municipal legislature, called the Legislative Assembly.
One was lawmaker Boris Vishnevsky, leader of the Yabloko party’s local branch and an assembly member since 2016.
The other two were an official tied to the ruling United Russia party and a salesman for a car-repair company, both of whom changed their names ahead of the September 17-19 vote.
All three lost, preliminary results showed on September 20. The declared winner of the vote, Sergei Solovyov, is from the ruling United Russia party.
United Russia was the declared winner nationwide of the three-day vote to the State Duma amid allegations of widespread vote rigging, including ballot stuffing. Local elections, including in St. Petersburg, were also held.
Vishnevsky, 65, told the news website Znak.com that he was prevented earlier on September 20 from filing a formal complaint against the vote.
He said five men snatched copies of the complaints and questioned him but did not cause him any physical harm.
