The Central Election Commission (CEC) of Russia rejected this Thursday (8) the registration of opponent Boris Nadezhdin, the only candidate who defends the end of the invasion in Ukraine, due to errors detected in the signatures he presented to run in the presidential elections in March. .
“I do not agree with the decision of the Election Commission (…) I will appeal to the Supreme Court of Russia,” said Nadezhdin on his Telegram channel.
The CEC determined that Nadezhdin presented 95,587 valid signatures, when he needed 100,000 to register his candidacy because he had the support of a party without parliamentary representation (Citizen's Initiative).
The commission accused the opposing candidate's team of making formal errors, including signing the signatures of 11 dead people, by using outdated databases. “You should not cross the border where deceased people appear on the lists in favor of candidates,” declared Nikolai Bulaev, deputy head of the CEC, during a session of the body held in the center of Moscow.
Furthermore, Nadezhdin warned that the commission had never lost a case before the Supreme Court on the four occasions when candidates appealed against a decision by the electoral authority.
In the case of President Vladimir Putin, Bulaev recalled that those responsible for the commission found only 91 invalid signatures, which allowed him to run for re-election on March 17.
In turn, Nadezhdin stated that his team collected more than 200 thousand signatures across Russia. “We collect data openly and honestly. Everyone saw the lines in front of our electoral headquarters and our offices,” he said on Telegram.
Hours earlier, he commented in statements on social media that if he had voting intentions of 1-2%, and not 15-20%, he would not have had any problems participating in the elections.
Nadezhdin's signature collection campaign became the first massive, legal demonstration of war rejection since the war began in February 2022.
The opposition accuses Putin of doing everything possible to prevent the pacifist candidate from participating, as they fear that he will bring together all those dissatisfied not only with the war, but with the Kremlin's authoritarian turn. In this regard, the presidential spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, limited himself to stating that the commission did its job, which consists of demanding respect for the regulations in force.
The CEC registered four candidates: Putin; communist Nikolai Kharitonov; the nationalist Leonid Slutski and the representative of the Gente Nova party, Vladislav Davankov.
Although he publicly assured that he would not do so, Putin reformed the Constitution in 2020 to be able to run for re-election, something he could do again in six years and, in this way, remain in the Kremlin until 2036. (With EFE Agency)
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