Moscow — Russia’s Supreme Court has upheld a decision to bar a former TV journalist who opposes the war in Ukraine from taking part in a presidential election in March, Yekaterina Duntsova, the would-be candidate, said on Wednesday.
Members of the Central Electoral Commission voted unanimously to reject the candidacy of Duntsova, citing “numerous violations” in the papers she had submitted in support of her bid.
Duntsova, in a post on her Telegram channel, confirmed that her appeal against the decision has been rejected by the Supreme Court.
She said she now plans to try to set up a new political party for people who want “peace, freedom and democracy” — ideas Duntsova said are attractive to tens of millions of Russians whose voices she says are not being represented.
Duntsova — who is not well known in Russia and, by her own admission, commands a core support base of only thousands in a country of more than 140-million people — haa previously told Reuters she felt she had been unfairly disqualified.
The Central Election Commission says its decisions are purely rules-based and that its job is to make sure that would-be candidates follow the right procedures.
Incumbent Vladimir Putin, who has been in power as either president or prime minister for more than 20 years and faces no serious competition, is expected to comfortably win another six-year term in March.
The Kremlin points to opinion polls which give Putin, 71, an approval rating of about 80% and says most Russians support what it calls Moscow’s “special military operation” in Ukraine.
Reuters
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