MOSCOW, MARCH 22, RIA NOVOSTI - Irina Hakamada, former co-chair of the Union of Right Forces political party, has determined to withdraw her appeal to the federal Prosecutor General's office to launch criminal proceedings against Sergei Mironov, Speaker of the Federation Council, parliament's upper house, and another recent presidential hopeful. She no longer bears grudges against him after his crushing defeat in the federal presidential poll of March 14, the organising committee of the Free Russia, a political party Miss Hakamada is establishing, says in a statement.
As preliminary election returns have it, Hakamada scored roughly 4 per cent of votes, while Mironov less than 1 per cent. "The electorate has made its own verdict," she sums up the closed matter.
Miss Hakamada applied, March 1, to have libel proceedings launched against Sergei Mironov during the pre-election campaign. As the two presidential hopefuls met in televised debates, he snapped at his opponent: "Criminals are sponsoring you" - a reference to controversial tycoons, prominent among her campaign donors.
