| The number of candidates for president of Russia is declining Yesterday at six o'clock in the evening Moscow time, the Central Election Commission stopped accepting documents and signature sheets from presidential candidates. Because of this, department employees had to work in emergency mode all day. At 11 o’clock in the morning, members of Irina Khakamada’s initiative group delivered to the Central Election Commission 2 million 411 thousand autographs of voters who wanted to see Ms. Khakamada as head of state. And at half past three Sergei Glazyev arrived. While his supporters handed over sheets of 2,225,000 signatures to the police officers, the Rodina leader indignantly denied rumors that some of the autographs collected in his support were fake. “During the verification, all signatures will be recognized as reliable and valid,” he assured journalists. To avoid misunderstandings, Glazyev's comrades were not too lazy to make copies of every single signature sheet - just in case.
In addition to Glazyev and Khakamada, the CEC yesterday was waiting for signature sheets from the head of Medinvestbank Vladimir Bryntsalov. However, he unexpectedly no longer wanted to fight for the highest government post, which the entrepreneur notified the Central Election Commission by telephone. Mr. Bryntsalov admitted that he is a supporter of the current president, and therefore does not want to “divert attention to his person” during the election campaign. Instead, he will try to challenge his defeat in the last parliamentary elections through the courts. The entrepreneur ran for the Duma in the Orekhovo-Zuevsky single-mandate constituency No. 112 and lost to the communist Sergei Sobko with a gap of only 446 votes.
After Mr. Bryntsalov’s refusal to participate in the elections, only seven people are vying for the presidency. However, the number of candidates may be reduced. Ivan Rybkin has already announced that he is ready to withdraw his candidacy, but has not yet decided in whose favor.
After receiving the signatures, Alexander Veshnyakov announced that the composition of the ballot would be determined by February 8. The head of the Central Election Commission promised that the issue of registration would be resolved fairly: “We comply with the law and do not threaten anyone, and are not in the mood to artificially exclude anyone from the list of candidates.”
However, analysts disagree with this. “It is very difficult to collect 2 million “clean” signatures, so many cannot happen without a defect,” explained Maxim Dianov, director of the Institute of Regional Problems, in an interview with a correspondent of the Vremya Novostei newspaper. - But you can approach the assessment of marriage harshly or, conversely, softly. Therefore, everything is in the hands of Veshnyakov, and therefore the presidential administration.”
The administration will most likely reason as follows. Vladimir Putin's victory in the first round is beyond doubt. According to the latest polls from the analytical service of Yuri Levada, 79% of Russians are ready to vote for the current president today. His lead over the other candidates is enormous: Sergei Glazyev can so far count on only 4% of the vote, Nikolai Kharitonov on 2%, and everyone else on 1% or less. However, the president's high rating can play a cruel joke on him. “What if a situation arises when there are no applicants left at all? - suggests Maxim Dianov. - If everyone withdraws their candidacies, the elections will become uncontested. The “Mironov-Putin” situation from the point of view of Western countries puts Putin as president on the brink of legitimacy. Then elections may not take place at all. And only those who did not participate in the first have the right to participate in repeat elections.” Also, the triumph of Vladimir Putin may be hampered by the low turnout of the electorate, which, having heard that the outcome of the elections has long been predetermined, will not express their will at all. According to the analytical service, 58% of citizens now intend to go to the ballot box, while two weeks ago 66% planned to do so.
Based on these considerations, the authorities will probably allow the registration of Glazyev and Khakamada: with their participation, they will lure additional voters to the polls and at the same time ensure the legitimacy of the elections. Natalia ROZHKOVA |
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