Kremlin critic allowed to collect signatures for presidential election
Putin had the constitution changed for the presidential elections in Russia in March. A victory is as good as guaranteed, not least because the Kremlin usually uses procedural tricks to prevent its opponents from standing as candidates. However, things are looking good for opposition politician Nadezhdin so far.
The central election commission in Russia has allowed opposition politician Boris Nadezhdin to continue his campaign for a candidacy in the 2024 presidential election. Nadezhdin announced on his Telegram channel that he had received permission to open a donation account for his election campaign and to start collecting signatures.
The 60-year-old was nominated by the Citizens' Initiative party. For final registration, however, the liberal anti-war activist must still collect 100,000 signatures of support within the next three weeks, which the electoral commission must recognize as genuine. In previous years, the commission had repeatedly screened out candidates who were not acceptable to the Kremlin for formal reasons when collecting signatures. However, Nadezhdin was optimistic. "We can do it," he said.
The former Duma deputy is considered a moderate opposition figure and was one of the last critical voices to be heard on Russian state television after the start of the war. The war-critical journalist Ekaterina Duntsova, whose candidacy for the presidential election was recently rejected by the election commission due to alleged errors in the documents - and who failed with an appeal to the Supreme Court in Russia - has announced that she will support Nadezhdin's candidacy.
In the election in March, however, incumbent Vladimir Putin is considered the clear favorite. The 71-year-old had the constitution changed especially for the election and is running for the fifth time. The vote is also seen as a referendum on the Kremlin leader's course of war. Critics accuse the Russian leadership of having largely cleared the political field and of using administrative means to force a record result.
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Nadezhdin's campaign for the 2024 presidential election in Russia is gaining momentum, as he has received permission from the central election commission to open a donation account and start collecting signatures. Despite Vladimir Putin's increased chances of winning, given his constitutionally amended eligibility and support from the Kremlin, Nadezhdin remains optimistic about his chances, citing the need to collect 100,000 valid signatures within three weeks.
Source: www.ntv.de
