- He submitted over 100,000 required signatures to the electoral authorities.
- Nadezhdin’s application will be reviewed by the electoral commission.
- Putin has already registered as an independent candidate for the March election.
Kremlin challenger Boris Nadezhdin claims to have gathered enough signatures to officially enter the race as a candidate in Russia’s upcoming presidential election.
The former local councilor recognized for his relatively outspoken criticism of Mr. Putin and Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, stated that he submitted over 100,000 required signatures to the electoral authorities. The electoral commission will now review his application.
Current President Vladimir Putin has already registered as an independent candidate for the March election, widely expected to secure him another six-year term. Despite the environment where opposition figures in Russia have faced imprisonment or even assassination, Nadezhdin’s recent critiques of Putin seem to have been tolerated so far.
He recently said the president had “practically destroyed the key institutions of the modern state of Russia”, and told the BBC that, if elected, his first task would be to end the war in Ukraine.
Shortly after today’s deadline to hand in the signatures, Mr. Nadezhdin posted a photo of himself standing in front of several boxes containing papers with the signatures of his supporters.
“This is my pride – the work of thousands of people over many sleepless days. The result of the queues you stood in in the cold is in those boxes,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Thousands of Russians have stood in the cold across the country to contribute their signatures to the list of people supporting Mr. Nadezhdin’s bid.
Vladimir Putin has dominated Russia’s political scene since 2000. In 2020, a constitutional amendment passed, enabling him to extend his stay in power beyond 2024.
A March victory would allow him to continue as president until 2030. Following that, if he chooses to stand again, he could potentially serve another six years until 2036.
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