15 June 2004 07:43
Alkhanov not registered as presidential candidate
GROZNY/MOSCOW. June 15 (Interfax) - Chechen Interior Minister General Alu Alkhanov has not yet officially addressed
the Chechen Elections Commission to request to be registered as a presidential candidate, deputy chairman of the
commission Buvaisari Arsakhanov told Interfax.
Arsakhanov said that rallies have actually been staged in Chechnya at which participants have asked that Alkhanov
join the presidential race, but neither Alkhanov himself nor his representatives have officially declared that Alkhanov
intends to run for president.
Earlier, at a meeting between Alkhanov and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Alkhanov told Putin that he intends to
take part in the Chechen presidential elections. Alkhanov said that, taking into account his knowledge of the republic
and of the policy pursued in Chechnya over the past several years, he would be fully capable of continuing that
policy.
Arsakhanov said that the number of Chechen presidential candidates increased to ten on Tuesday.
On Tuesday, the elections commission received a request for registration from Moscow resident Zura Magomadova, 55,
who is general director of the company Dika, and Sergo Khachukayev, 55, an unemployed lawyer.
This statement was signed by the Memorial human rights center, the
Moscow Helsinki Group, the Civil Aid Committee and several other
Earlier, the elections commission received requests from Moscow businessman Malik Saidullayev, Elektrogorsk resident
Hussein Bibulatov, Rostov-on-Don resident Marat Zainalabidov, Urus-Martan regional administration employee Mariyet
Gorchkhanova, and others.
The Chechen presidential elections were called for August 29 after the death of Chechen President Akhmad Kadyrov in a
terrorist attack in Grozny on May 9.
Several Russian human rights organizations have issued a statement in favor of postponing the presidential elections
in Chechnya.
organizations.
"The necessity of forming a new authority in Chechnya gives the Russian authorities a chance to begin an
imperfect, but real political settlement in Chechnya. Parliamentary and presidential elections should be conducted in
Chechnya," says the rights campaigners' statement.
At the same time, the statement says that "the current situation in Chechnya leaves no hope that these
elections, if they are conducted within the time named in the Chechen constitution, will be any more free or just than
the preceding elections."
"The central Russian authorities need to postpone these elections. There is only one way to do that - to
introduce a state of emergency in Chechnya. The emergency period should be used by the Russian authorities to prepare
the Chechen republic for honest elections," the statement says.
The statement suggests bringing in "as many observers from international organizations as possible" to
monitor the situation in Chechnya, "including from the OSCE, the U.S., the Council of Europe and non-government
organizations." [RU EUROPE EEU EMRG ASIA POL VOTE] aa aw
[Interfax] |
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