In Russia's presidential election to be held next month, former member of parliament Nadezhdin, who criticizes the military invasion of Ukraine, was not allowed to run. President Putin is aiming for an overwhelming victory by suppressing domestic opposition.
Russia's Central Election Commission announced on the 8th that some of the required signatures were missing in the presidential election scheduled for mid-next month, against former lawmaker Nadezhdin, who criticized the military invasion of Ukraine and announced his candidacy. However, the decision was made that his candidacy would not be accepted.
``You can remove me from the election, but that will not eliminate the millions of people who oppose the direction of this country and want change,'' Nadezhdin told reporters, adding that he plans to appeal to the Supreme Court. I showed my attitude.
On the other hand, Spokesman of the Russian Presidential Office Peskov said, ``Many signatures are invalid, which means that important requirements were not met,'' emphasizing that the decision was made in accordance with the law.
It is believed that the Putin administration was wary of Nadezhdin, who opposed the invasion of Ukraine and was attracting increasing attention both domestically and internationally.
The Election Commission has stated that the presidential election will be contested by four candidates, including the incumbent President Putin, Duma Kharitonov of the Communist Party of Russia, and leader Slutsky of the far-right Liberal Democratic Party of Russia. The president is poised to suppress domestic opposition and aim for an overwhelming victory.