16 June 2004 10:51
Chechen presidential race outsider pulls out, backs Kremlin favourite
Groznyy, 16 June: Mariyat Gorchkhanova, an employee of Chechnya's Urus-Martanovskiy District administration,
today recalled her application to contest the early election of a head of Chechnya on 29 August from the republic's
electoral commission. The news was conveyed to ITAR-TASS by electoral commission deputy chairman Buvaysari
Arsakhanov.
"I have decided not to run in the election because I support Ali [Alu] Alkhanov as a candidate and I would like
to be of use to him in the election campaign," Gorchkhanova told ITAR-TASS.
Head of the Chechen Interior Ministry Ali Alkhanov was put forward as a candidate for the top post in the republic by
the team of the late Akhmat Kadyrov. The minister has stated his intention to contest the election but has not yet
submitted an application to the electoral commission.
With Gorchkhanova deciding not to run, the number of candidates for the post of Chechen president has dropped to
ten.
[ITAR-TASS news agency] |
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