On Wednesday, the 20th of December, former TV journalist Yekaterina Duntsova announced her candidacy for the upcoming Russian presidential elections in March and officially submitted her candidacy papers to the Central Election Commission and thus challenging Vladimir Putin. Duntsova called for an end to the conflict in Ukraine and for the release of political prisoners, including opposition leader Alexei Navalny, reports Reuters.
When asked by a journalist whether she thought the authorities would allow her to stand, Duntsova stressed her right to stand in elections under federal law, dismissing concerns about the need for permission from the authorities.
She now faces a major hurdle,
she needs to collect 300 000 signatures in support of her candidacy by the 31st of January.
Vladimir Putin, who announced earlier this month that he would run, is seeking another term but faces a shortage of recognised opposition figures due to political repression and no other candidate has formally declared their candidacy so far.
Navalny’s supporters criticise the electoral process as a sham, pointing to Kremlin control over the candidates and an opaque voting system.
The Kremlin claims that Putin has overwhelming public support, with polls showing him at around 80%.
Aldo read: Navalny’s camp plans to disrupt Putin’s path to becoming President
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