Justice Ministry declines to register Navalny supporters' party Russia of the Future
MOSCOW. June 7 (Interfax) - The Russian Justice Ministry has denied supporters of opposition activist Alexei Navalny official registration of the party Russia of the Future as this name is already being used by a different political entity.
"The Justice Ministry made a decision to deny the political party Russia of the Future state registration on June 3," the agency press service said in a statement received by Interfax on Friday.
"This decision was made because information on a political party that has the same name is contained in the Unified State Register of Legal Entities," the statement said.
On May 31, the Justice Ministry put on the list of political parties a new organization called Political Party Russia of the Future, former Party of Free Citizens, led by Alexander Zorin, 38.
According to a statement posted earlier on Navalny's website, the Justice Ministry re-registered the party of Free Citizens as the Russia of the Future party, under the title which was intended for the opposition politician's party and whose registration documentation had been filed in mid-May.
The opposition expected that the ministry would not register the party because political parties are not allowed to have the same names.
Navalny's supporters have been trying to register their party under various names (People's Alliance, Progress Party, Russia of the Future) since 2012, but all their requests have been declined by the Justice Ministry either because of errors in the paperwork or because other parties are already registered under that name.