By Kester Kenn Klomegah
MOSCOW, Sep 21 2005 (IPS)

Leading opposition groups are backing a move by former oil magnate Mikhail Khodorkovsky to contest a parliamentary by-election in December.

Khodorkovsky, 41, was given a disputed nine-year prison sentence May 31 this year after conviction for fraud and tax evasion in his now crippled Yukos oil company.

Members from liberal, communist and nationalist groups have already kicked off a campaign to support his parliamentary bid.

Lawyers for Khodorkovsky have confirmed that the head of administration at the Matrosskaya Tishina detention centre has forwarded notification documents on Khodorkovsky to the district election commission.

Khodorkovsky plans to contest from the 201st district in Moscow, a stronghold of liberals, academics and affluent Muscovites. The election has been planned for Dec. 4.

Central election commission chairman Alexander Veshnyakov has said the commission would send representatives to Khodorkovsky’s prison cell to help him fill registration forms.

“If anybody thinks that (Khodorkovsky’s arrest) means that his registration cannot be considered, this person is wrong,” Veshnyakov said. “Even if a person is being held in a pre-trial detention facility, there are ways for him to submit documents in person.”

His supporters are pushing for his candidacy as a symbol for political rights.

“I really believe that what happened to Khodorkovsky was in large part motivated by the authorities to strategically crush forces in opposition, and we must not allow this to continue,” senior member of the liberal Union of Right Forces party Ivan Starikov told IPS. “I think it’s democratically right and useful to engage in a confrontation with the authorities, especially when they embark on incorrect policies or selfish political initiatives.”

This is the first time in 15 years that the activities of political organisations have been restricted in Russia, he said.

The proposal to nominate Khodorkovsky began circulating in opposition circles in August soon after deputy Mikhail Zadornov from the liberal Yabloko party vacated his seat to take up a position in a bank.

Khodorkovsky himself has as good as launched his election campaign.

“The time for the final decision is yet to come,” he said in a statement circulated through his lawyer. “If I am nominated, then my voters must know that we have to collectively struggle to redeem society.”

Khodorkovsky added: “I have to run in Moscow in order to have my words really heard in Russia and the world. I am sure that I have been put in jail not just because of politics, but in order to take Yukos away from me. Politics was merely a pretext. If I hadn’t helped opposition parties in 2003, they would have found another pretext.”

Khodorkovsky’s move has inevitably raised questions about the immunity parliamentarians in Russia enjoy, and what consequences that could have for his prison term.

Khodorkovsky can contest because his appeal against the Moscow court that convicted him has not yet been heard. If his appeal is rejected, he could not.

But there are fears that the authorities have instructed the city court to do everything possible to bar Khodorkovsky from registering as a candidate.

Kremlin authorities might clandestinely ask the court to speed up the appeal process in order to prevent Khodorkovsky from contesting, Yury Korguniuk from the political think tank, the Indem Foundation, told IPS.

“But there must be an opposition to check and balance politics,” he said. “Politics without any checks from the opposition is a mere rubber stamp which is no good for society. It’s time to form a strong political force to oppose authoritarian rule which is growing under Putin’s regime.”

Korguniuk said Khodorkovsky is becoming an icon for Russian liberals. He is now urging them and other opposition groups to intensify protests against government moves to frustrate Khodorkovsky’s bid to contest.

“They might try to put forth a Kremlin-backed candidate but the record of the past several years has shown that the crisis of authority in the country is deepening, and the authorities are unable to solve any of the pressing problems in a democratic way,” he said.

Some of the groups backing Khodorkovsky are the Members of Our Choice Party, the Union of Right Forces and the Oborona Youth Movement.

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