Arr! Thar be a scallywag o' a Russian anti-war matey, kept from crossin' swords wit' Putin in th' election!
2023-12-23
Arrr! A bold buccaneer aimin' to challenge the fearsome Vladimir Putin in the upcoming election, swearin' to put an end to the Ukraine War, has been cast aside! Walk the plank, says the powers that be!
A former TV journalist and Ukraine War critic, Yekaterina Duntsova, has been disqualified from running against Russian President Vladimir Putin in the upcoming presidential election. Duntsova, an independent politician who aimed to end the war with Ukraine, had her candidacy application rejected by the country's electoral commission due to "numerous violations" in her submitted papers. The commission found 100 errors in her nomination papers, including spelling mistakes. There were also suspicions that the minutes of the meeting with her supporters were prepared after the meeting itself, making it impossible to establish the size and composition of the group. Critics see this decision as evidence that the Kremlin will not tolerate any serious contender against Putin in what they perceive as a fake election process. Duntsova plans to challenge the decision in the Supreme Court, claiming it is unjustified and undemocratic. She also appealed to the Yabloko political party to nominate her, but they declined because they were unfamiliar with her. Putin, who submitted his nomination papers earlier, is widely expected to win the election. He has remained popular in Russia, particularly since the conflict with Ukraine began. Other candidates running in the election include Igor Girkin, a pro-war blogger currently in jail, and Boris Nadezhdin, a former lawmaker. Voting will take place over three days, with concerns about the extension of the voting window and the integrity of the election process.