Russia’s elections commission has said it found “dead souls” among the more than 100,000 signatures of support submitted by Boris Nadezhdin, the sole anti-war candidate in next month’s presidential election, in a sign that he could be disqualified from a carefully managed ballot meant to deliver victory for Vladimir Putin.
Nadezhdin, a veteran politician who has associated with Kremlin insiders and the opposition to Putin, has been waging a last-minute campaign to get on the ballot for the election, with thousands of Russians standing for hours in the freezing cold to add their signature in his support.
While Nadezhdin has not yet been disqualified, Friday’s briefing at the central elections commission indicated that he could be removed in the run-up to the vote. He has been summoned to the commission on Monday for a review of the “errors” among his signatures.
Sure budget workers would be pressed to leave those if there would not be enough, and Putin’s gonna get his way anyway.
I think running this way makes his power appear more legitimate to some people, which is why he does this. Just one more minor point in his hold on power that doesn’t cost him much.
I wonder if he himself want it.
Appearing legitimate is crucial for any dictator, so why not. Or do you mean if he wants to hold on for power any further? Then he doesn’t have much of a choice - either lead or be held responsible for all of the caused atrocities.