MOSCOW, July 9 - RAPSI. Former Astrakhan mayoral candidate Oleg Shein will appeal the court's decision in his lawsuit to invalidate the mayoral elections in the European Court of Human Rights in September, he said on Monday.

The Kirovsky District Court dismissed his lawsuit to invalidate the election results in June.

Shein said he is prepared for tensions with the local authorities, who he believes will try to obstruct his participation in the Strasbourg proceedings.

United Russia party representative Mikhail Stolyarov won Astrakhan's mayoral elections with 60 percent of the vote on March 6.

Shein, A Just Russia candidate, finished second with slightly less than 30 percent of the votes. He then challenged the election results, saying they were falsified, and went on a 40-day hunger strike with his supporters to protest the elections.