The Central Election Commission of Russia did not register Boris Nadezhdin* as a candidate for the presidential elections scheduled for March. This was reported in a political telegram channel.
"I disagree with the decision of the Central Election Commission. I have collected over 200,000 signatures from all over Russia. We conducted the collection openly and honestly - the whole world followed the queues to our headquarters and collection points," the statement said.
* Nadezhdin is the only politician openly opposing the war who plans to run for the presidency of Russia. Opposition Russian politicians called for collecting signatures in support of him.
"Participating in the presidential elections in 2024 is the most important political decision of my life. I do not retreat from my intentions. I am appealing the decision of the CEC to the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation," he added.
It was later revealed that the post in Nadezhdin's channel was published before the CEC vote on the politician's nomination.
According to the CEC, the working group accepted 104,734 signatures in support of Nadezhdin. After verifying 60,000 signatures, the commission declared 9,147 signatures invalid, while 95,587 were deemed valid.
The CEC found signatures of 11 deceased individuals in the lists supporting Nadezhdin. Additionally, 858 signatures for Nadezhdin were declared invalid based on the Ministry of Internal Affairs response. 1,767 signatures were invalidated because the collector was not listed as a collector, 995 because the collector's data differed from the list, and 123 because another person allegedly filled out the forms on behalf of the collector.
During the session, Nadezhdin requested to postpone the consideration of his registration until February 10 to continue the signature verification process. The CEC refused. "I am not standing here alone. Behind me are hundreds of thousands of Russian citizens who left signatures for me... According to all polls, I am in second place after Putin. These are tens of millions of people who want to vote for me. And you are telling me about 11 deceased individuals in the signatures and incorrect passports," the politician said during the session.
The CEC also refused to register Sergei Malinkovich, the leader of the "Communists of Russia," due to deficiencies in the signatures he collected. He submitted 104,998 signatures, of which 8,979 were declared invalid.
The Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation voted on the issue of registering Boris Nadezhdin as a candidate for the presidential elections. The commission denied him registration due to deficiencies in the collected signatures. The politician called this decision "expected." He intends to appeal it in the Supreme Court.
