Anti-war candidate standing against Putin likely to be barred from Russian presidential election

Russian anti-war presidential candidate Boris Nadezhdin is likely to be barred from the ballot after the Central Election Commission on Monday (Feb 5) said it had foundirregularities in the candidate registration process.

A working group of CEC rejected more than 15 per cent of the 100,000+ supporters' signatures Nadezhdin had submitted to fulfill the registration requirement. The workinggroup has recommended thatNadezhdin be barred and the commission is expected to rubber-stamp the decision on Wednesday (Feb 7).

Nadezhdin took to Telegram to inform his supporters that he will appeal to the Supreme Court if the commission did not rule in his favour. It was only last week that he submitted the signatures to the commission for review.

Although nobody expects Nadezhdin to win the election, his campaign has caught attention due to its outright opposite position to that of the Kremlin.

Representing the Civic Initiative Party, Nadezhdin aims to alter Russia's trajectory. His primary objectives include halting the conflict with Ukraine, ending the military mobilisation of Russian men, and fostering dialogue with the West. He also condemns Russia's repression of LGBTQ+ activism.

The bespectacled former bureaucrat, now an academic, is endorsed by notable figures like Alexei Navalny's wife and exiled oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky.

Putin announces re-election bid

In December last year, Putin announced his latest presidency bid which will most likely keep him in power till at least 2030.

The election will be conducted in a span of three days starting from March 15-17 and the winning candidate will become the next president in the month of May.

This time, voting will also be conducted in what Russia refers to as its new territories – which are the parts of Ukraine where the Russian forces have gained their control.

In Russia, nearly 110 million people have the right to cast their vote, although usually around 70-80 million people turn up for voting. In 2018, the turnout was 67.5 per cent.

Putin has been in power since 1999 when Boris Yeltsin handed him the rein. Since then, he has become the longest-serving Russian president after Josef Stalin, even breaking the record ofLeonid Brezhnev, who was the president from 1964 to 1982.

(With inputs from agencies)