Imams running for parliament in Karachay-Cherkessia were under pressure

In January, the imam of the city of Ust-Dzheguta (Karachay-Cherkessia), Anzor Karaketov, said that imams who nominated themselves for elections to the republican parliament were being pressured "in the form of conversations at different levels of power."

He, as well as Akhmat Bidzhiev and Muratbi Laypanov, representatives of the clergy, running, respectively, in the Prikubansky and Zelenchuksky districts, were asked to "voluntarily withdraw their candidacy."

The chairman of the republic's election commission, Mehdi Baitokov, told the "Caucasian Knot" that all conversations during which officials tried to influence the imams were held unofficially, so it is now impossible to prove an attempt to exert pressure. But the fact that some candidates from among the clergy withdrew their candidacies "remains a fact."

"There were no appeals to us that pressure was being exerted, and we did not deal with this issue. In addition, we did not have any instructions to talk with the imams about withdrawing candidates, but as I think, if the central federal or republican authorities If we were interested in this, we would have such instructions. That is, it all took place in private, according to him, respectively, and the interests were private," Baitokov said.

Elections to the parliament of Karachay-Cherkessia are scheduled for March 1, 2009.

Sources

• Imam of Ust-Dzheguty: pressure is being put on candidates for deputies of the parliament of Karachay-Cherkessia // Caucasian knot. 2009. January 21.
• Baitokov: it is impossible to confirm the oppression of candidates in the elections in Karachay-Cherkessia // There. February 27.