“Fatal error” means off
Putin critic is not allowed to run in elections
December 23, 2023, 1:47 p.m
The chances of victory for all of President Putin’s opponents are marginal, but particularly critical voices are being sorted out. This is currently happening to a young journalist who is opposing the invasion of Ukraine. The electoral commission believes she made a “serious mistake”.
The central Russian election commission has prevented Kremlin-critical journalist Yekaterina Duntsova from registering her initiative group for the presidential election on March 17. The commission in Moscow said there were several errors in the organization of the initiative group and in the documents submitted.
Duntsova said she would challenge the election commission’s “sad” decision in court. Duntsova announced on the Telegram online service that she would appeal to the Russian Supreme Court on Sunday. “It’s not over yet,” she assured. However, their appeal has little chance of success: Kremlin critics have virtually no chance of being allowed to vote by the Russian authorities.
The 40-year-old Duntsova had previously criticized Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin’s policies and war against Ukraine and offered herself as an alternative to voters. She would have needed the initiative group to obtain signatures of support for registration as a candidate for president. According to Dunzowa’s supporters, individual letter transpositions in names were interpreted as “serious errors” in the documents.
Putin could run again in 2030
The head of the electoral commission, Ella Pamfilova, is said to be a close confidant 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’s opponent Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who lives in exile.
Putin’s opponents repeatedly complain that the election commission refuses to register candidates with formal errors. It is expected that candidates who do not represent serious competition for the incumbent will only 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 certain that Putin will emerge victorious in his fifth presidential election. The head of the Kremlin had the constitution changed specifically in order to be able to run again. According to the currently valid version of the constitution, the 71-year-old can run for the last time in 2030. The presidential term in Russia is six years.