Russia: War opponent Nadezhdin threatens to withdraw from candidacy

Boris Nadezhdin is the only presidential candidate to openly criticize Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Now his candidacy is in jeopardy: the electoral commission has allegedly sorted out incorrect supporter signatures.

According to Russia’s Central Election Commission, 15 percent of the liberal politician Boris Nadezhdin’s signatures were incorrect. In order to be registered, Nadezhdin would have to have around 4,500 signatures recognized again. “We plan to get these signatures back,” the opposition activist wrote on his Telegram channel.

Nadezhdin wants to run for the “Citizens’ Initiative” party. He is the only presidential candidate who has openly opposed the war of aggression that Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin has been waging against Ukraine for almost two years. For this, the opposition politician received unexpectedly great support from many compatriots.

Support from many parts of the country

In recent weeks, people in various regions of Russia have stood in long lines to support Nadezhdin with their signature. To be registered, he had to produce 100,000 signatures. In the end, the 60-year-old says he collected around twice as many. However, only 105,000 signatures may be submitted, which will then be checked for accuracy by the electoral commission.

Dozens of people on the signature list submitted by Nadezhdin are “no longer on this earth,” the deputy chairman of the electoral authority, Nikolai Bulayev, said on Friday. This raises questions about the “ethical standards” of even whoever collected the signatures, he added.

Nadezhdin rejects allegations

A decision on the acceptance of the candidacy is expected in the next few days. “Errors” in Nadezhdin’s registration documents could result in his exclusion from the election.

Nadezhdin rejected the election commission’s allegations. “We are all more alive than the living,” he wrote on the Telegram online service, where he also published photos of young people queuing to sign. He announced that he would take the electoral authority to court if it did not recognize his candidacy.

Putin wants to be re-elected for the fifth time in the presidential election in March – he had the Russian constitution rewritten specifically for this purpose in 2020.