The Republic newspaper has published a series of damning accusations suggesting the Union Party failed to properly declare major concerns over the health of Medyn deputy Stepan Michalvich during the 2022 special election.
Chirp at #MedynScandalBeating former Prime Minister Asta Dahn’s husband, Dmitri Alenichev, in the election after Benjamin Usan vacated the seat, the party is accused of not checking the former Kamchetkan governor’s declaration forms signed by a campaign staffer. Rumours over Mr Michalvich’s health have continued to gather pace over the past few months, where he has been absent from the lower house and where his office has failed to deny suggestions that he is suffering from a prolonged, undisclosed, illness. The forms, seen by the Republic, suggest Michalvich’s team had tried to ‘cover up’ the fact that the candidate was ill, and potentially used forged doctors papers submitted at the same time. The staffer is thought to have stated ‘to the best of their knowledge’ that the candidate was ‘fit and healthy’ to stand for election – but internal memos seen by the newspaper suggest they were aware of the concerns about the candidate’s health.
The exposé article, published last night, also claims Unionist insiders have since said that the process was ‘rushed’ but that any failure to declare health issues was a ‘mistake’ rather than conspiracy. Those claims however have been brought into doubt, with the story given additional heat following a television appearance last night by the acting leader of the party at the time, Dmitry Kreshnenvo, who said that “the party had no concerns over someone who had just served as Governor of one of the country’s biggest states and was a two time presidential contender. There was simply no case to answer”, suggesting that the party had failed to properly vet Mr Michalvich in the run up to the election. A Coalition spokesperson responded to the story last night saying it was “clear evidence of the Unionists disrespecting voters” and called on Michalvich to step down. The party was also calling for a full investigation – stating that the Union Party may have broken electoral laws about the disclosure of health issues during elections.
The Union’s chief correspondent, Ramzan Maysuryan, this morning commented that “The issue for the party is the presence of two memos – the first which originally suggests Mr Michalvich as a candidate in the election and a second, the most damning, in which a senior staffer raises concerns over Michalvich’s health and therefore his suitability to run.” Discussing the article he continued “This was expected to be a close election and they knew Michalvich’s popularity would help them win back the seat. It seems the party leadership – and in particular Kreshnenvo’s office – therefore discounted the rumours regarding the candidate’s health. It seemed they turned a blind eye, and that’s what he appeared to confirm on television last night. That may well cause them major issues.” The Coalition also confirmed this morning it had written to Unionist leader Kresnovic Deputy Bartek Bagdat asking for “a full disclosure over what happened”.
Michalvich’s future as Medyn Deputy seems unclear, and without a comment from the former presidential candidate himself, remains speculation. What is clear however is that the Coalition believes a special election in Kamchetka to replace him may bolster the party ahead of next year’s legislative and presidential elections – with Prime Minister Krill Serbin keen to demonstrate that the party is capable of staving off a Union Party advance in key states such as Kamchetka.
