Putin critic not allowed to run in elections
The chances of victory for all of President Putin's opponents are marginal, yet particularly critical voices are being weeded out. A young journalist who opposes the invasion of Ukraine is currently being targeted. She made a "serious mistake", according to the election commission.
The Russian Central Election Commission has refused to allow the anti-Kremlin journalist Ekaterina Duntsova to register her initiative group for the presidential election on March 17. The commission announced in Moscow that there had been several errors in the organization of the initiative group and in the documents submitted.
Duntsova declared that she would challenge the "sad" decision of the electoral commission in court. She will lodge an appeal with the Russian Supreme Court on Sunday, Duntsova announced on the online service Telegram. "It's not over yet," she assured. However, her appeal has little chance of success: Kremlin critics have practically no chance of being admitted to the election by the Russian authorities.
The 40-year-old Duntsova had previously criticized Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin's policies and the war against Ukraine and offered herself to voters as an alternative. She would have needed the initiative group to obtain signatures of support to register as a candidate for the presidency. According to Duntsova's supporters, individual misspellings of names were interpreted as "serious errors" in the documents.
Putin could run again in 2030
The head of the election commission, Ella Pamfilova, is said to be a close confidante of President Putin. She said: "You are a young woman, you still have everything ahead of you. Every minus can be turned into a plus. Every experience is an experience." The result of the election commission was unanimous. Russian state media had previously linked the journalist to Putin opponent Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who lives in exile.
Putin's opponents repeatedly complain that the electoral commission rejects the registration of candidates with formal errors. It is expected that candidates who do not represent serious competition for the incumbent will also be admitted to the upcoming presidential election. According to the electoral commission, a total of 29 candidates have now registered for next year's presidential election. It is considered certain that Putin will also emerge victorious in his fifth participation in the presidential election. The Kremlin leader had the constitution amended specifically to enable him to run again. According to the current version of the constitution, the 71-year-old can run for the last time in 2030. The presidential term of office in Russia is six years.
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Despite her criticism of President Putin's policies and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, the Russian election commission denied Ekaterina Duntsova's application to register as a candidate in the upcoming presidential elections. This move further solidifies the opposition's struggles in challenging Vladimir Putin, as his opponents often face rejection due to minor technical errors in their registration.
The refusal of Ekaterina Duntsova's application follows a trend in Russian elections, where Putin's close confidante, Ella Pamfilova, leads the election commission in rejecting candidates who pose a significant threat to Putin's dominance. This includes allegations of rejections due to minor technical errors to prevent candidates like Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Putin's critic living in exile, from competing.
Source: www.ntv.de
