In a move that further solidifies President Vladimir Putin's path to re-election, Russian election authorities rejected the candidacy of antiwar politician Boris Nadezhdin. The decision, made by the Central Election Commission, sends a clear message that the Kremlin will not tolerate any public opposition to the invasion of Ukraine.
Nadezhdin, a local legislator near Moscow, was required to gather a minimum of 100,000 signatures from supporters to be considered a candidate. However, the commission declared that over 9,000 of the signatures submitted by Nadezhdin's campaign were invalid, surpassing the 5% threshold for disqualification. Despite his disqualification, Nadezhdin plans to appeal the decision in court.
Notably, Nadezhdin's campaign had attracted significant attention and support from thousands of Russians who lined up across the country to sign papers endorsing his candidacy. This show of opposition sympathies against the backdrop of Russia's tightly controlled political landscape caught many by surprise.
Meanwhile, President Putin, running as an independent candidate, faced minimal hurdles in securing his spot on the ballot. His campaign gathered over 300,000 signatures, with only 91 of them invalidated by election officials. The ease with which Putin was allowed to participate in the election stands in stark contrast to the obstacles faced by opposition figures, many of whom have been imprisoned or forced into exile.
Three other candidates, nominated by parties represented in parliament, were not required to collect signatures. These candidates, Nikolai Kharitonov of the Communist Party, Leonid Slutsky of the nationalist Liberal Democratic Party, and Vladislav Davankov of the New People Party, have largely supported the Kremlin's policies.
Exiled opposition activists threw their support behind Nadezhdin, encouraging their supporters to sign his nomination petitions. However, Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed Nadezhdin as a legitimate rival.
Despite the setback, Nadezhdin urged his supporters not to lose hope. In an online statement, he reminded them of the determination displayed by those who stood in long lines to declare their desire for a great and free Russia. Nadezhdin expressed that he represented each of his supporters while addressing the Central Election Commission.
Nadezhdin's disqualification is not an isolated incident. In December, journalist and former legislator Yekaterina Duntsova faced a similar fate, with the election commission citing technical problems in her paperwork. Duntsova had announced her plans to challenge Putin and advocated for ending the fighting in Ukraine through negotiation.
Political analyst Abbas Gallyamov, a former Putin speechwriter, believes that the decision to exclude Nadezhdin from the ballot underscores the tenuous nature of Putin's popularity. Gallyamov suggests that the perception of overwhelming support for Putin is, in reality, artificially constructed and unstable.
With Nadezhdin's candidacy rejected, the upcoming presidential election offers little meaningful opposition to Putin's bid for a fifth term in power. As the political realm becomes increasingly dominated by pro-Kremlin candidates, and independent media outlets remain banned, questions about the state of democracy in Russia persist.
