Putin has numerous opponents - without a chance
The Kremlin has been excluding opposition members from elections for years. Nothing stands in the way of Putin's re-election next year. However, there are interesting opposing candidates who want to run for different reasons.
According to the electoral authorities in Russia, 16 candidates have registered for next year's presidential election. "So far, we have received applications from 16 candidates for the presidential elections," the state news agency RIA Novosti quoted Ella Pamfilova, Chairwoman of the Central Election Commission, as saying.
Candidates have until December 27 to submit their applications. The candidates must then collect at least 300,000 signatures from supporters from at least 40 different electoral districts in order to actually be able to run in the election, which is scheduled for three days in mid-March.
Moscow has excluded opposition members from elections and political life for years - a development that has been accelerated since the Russian offensive in Ukraine. President Vladimir Putin recently confirmed his re-election bid and is expected to win a fifth term with ease. The election commission announced that the election would also be held in four Ukrainian regions partially occupied by Russian forces and on the Crimean peninsula, which was annexed in 2014.
Putin loyalists, critics and journalists
Putin's opponents include the former Russian chief negotiator in the Ukraine conflict, Leonid Sluzki, from the Russian Liberal Democratic Party, which is loyal to the Kremlin. His candidacy will not take votes away from Putin, Sluzki explained.
A group of supporters nominated Ekaterina Duntsova for the presidential elections. Duntsova is a journalist and local politician from the Tver region who openly speaks out in favor of peace in Ukraine. Her candidacy has led to accusations that she is supported by the Kremlin. Duntsova denies this. There are also fears that she will be prosecuted under Russia's strict laws of war during the election campaign.
The nationalist former separatist leader, military blogger and Kremlin critic Igor Girkin, who is in prison for "public calls to extremism", has also announced his candidacy. Imprisoned Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny was already banned from running for political office in 2018.
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Despite the electoral authorities accepting 16 candidates for the presidential election, many opposition members continue to be excluded from the political process in Russia. This exclusion, accelerated since the Russian offensive in Ukraine, ensures that Vladimir Putin's re-election next year appears unlikely to face significant opposition, strengthening his expected easy win.
Source: www.ntv.de
