A third candidate for the presidency of Russia withdraws from the electoral race

Independent candidate for the Russian presidential elections On Wednesday, Anatoly Batashov became the third person to withdraw from the electoral race, two months before the elections.Scheduled to be held next March.

Batashov, a well-known blogger representing the Green Party, made the decision after he went to the headquarters of the country's Central Electoral Commission with the necessary documents to conduct his registration, although he finally decided not to submit them. The candidate had to collect at least 300,000 signatures.

“I will not continue in the 2024 session. Yes, we have done a tremendous job, we have done the impossible. None of the green politicians have risen to this level. I am the first green candidate,” he said during a press conference before announcing his withdrawal, according to what was reported by several Russian media outlets. “In history, he is running for the Russian presidential elections.”

He pointed out that today is the last day to submit the necessary documents to register the candidacy, and expressed his regret for the “lack of preparation,” even though he specified the number of signatures he was able to collect.

His decision comes shortly after the founder Russian Freedom and Justice Party, Andrey Bogdanov, He also announced his withdrawal, a measure that had previously been joined by Sergei Baburin, who confirmed that he would support current President Vladimir Putin. The elections are scheduled to begin on March 15 and continue until the 17th, allowing citizens to vote for the first time within a period of three days.

There are currently four candidates whose applications have been registered by the Central Election Commission: Leonid Slutsky, for the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR), Nikolai Garitonov, for the Communist Party of Russia (KPRF), Vladislav Davankov, for the New People's Party, and Putin. , which is presented independently.

In addition, potential candidates still include Anatoly Batashev, an independent, Sergei Malinkovych, for the Party of Communists of Russia, and Boris Nadezhdin, for the Civic Initiative and a critic of the invasion of Ukraine.

The Central Election Commission, which has already refused to register four other candidates, must decide on the registration of candidates by February 10. Russian legislation requires candidates from non-parliamentary formations to submit at least 100,000 signaturesWhile for independents, including Putin himself, the limit rises to 300,000. The President completed the operation without problems.

On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin registered a candidate for the presidential elections scheduled for next March 17, in which he will run for re-election for another presidential term. A fifth term of six years In front of the Kremlin.

The decision taken by the Central Election Commission indicates that on January 29 at 11 23 minutes, Vladimir Putin, born in 1952, was registered as a candidate for the post of President of the Russian Federation.

The Electoral Commission determined that it detected only 0.15% of invalid signatures (91) – the maximum allowed is 5% – out of 60,000 signatures analysed.

Putin's team reported a few days ago that it had collected more than two million signatures, although the Kremlin's opponents questioned this, as they claim that no one had seen queues in front of the headquarters of the presidential administration throughout the country.

The current Russian leader who has been leading this country since 2000 -With a four-year hiatus as Prime Minister (2008-12)- Acts as an independent candidateBut it has received support from the Kremlin's United Russia party, which controls both houses of Russia's parliament.

(Information from Europe Press)