On Friday, 25 March, President Vladimir Putin met with the head of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov and announced that he had signed a decree appointing him as acting head of the region. In this status Kadyrov will stay until elections in the Republic, which should take place on 18 September in a single day of voting. Putin noted that relies on Kadyrov to take part in them.
Putin demanded that Kadyrov to interact with the Federal government in matters of security and encouraged to observe the Russian laws. “And you, and the future leaders of the Republic, of course, must do everything to comply with Russian law in all spheres of our life. I want to emphasize this: in all spheres of our lives,” the President said.
Pre-election activity
Recently, Kadyrov has repeatedly spoken to the media about his political future. In an interview with NTV television on 27 February, he suggested that the time had come to leave the post of head of Chechnya. “Now that I didn’t use my name against my people, I think that we need state leadership to find another person,” he said. In an interview to “Interfax” on March 2, Kadyrov said that he would fulfill any decision of the President. “Any decision made by the President of Russia Vladimir Putin. I grunt, say “Yes” — he said.
At the same time Kadyrov has regularly speak about the opposition. January 12 on the website of the government of Chechnya there was a message in which he urged to treat non-systemic opposition as “enemies of the people”. These utterances Petersburg Deputy Maxim Reznik appealed to the Prosecutor General, requesting the Supervisory authority to conduct an audit of Kadyrov’s words on extremism. On 23 March the Prosecutor of the Chechen Republic of Sharpuddi Abdul-Kadyrov said that the Republic Prosecutor’s office is not found in the statements Kadyrov extremism
On January 22, in Grozny, a rally was held in support of Kadyrov. The organizers — the Council of trade unions of the Chechen Republic — on the eve of the meeting announced that they intend to gather at the main mosque of the Republic “Heart of Chechnya” 750 thousand people. More than 1 million people, according to the Republican interior Ministry, met in Grozny on March 23 at a rally in honor of the Constitution of Chechnya.
The activity of Kadyrov and his tough rhetoric against the opposition were an attempt, on the one hand, to push the Kremlin to adopt a political solution and force the elite of Chechnya once again to take an oath swearing loyalty to Kadyrov and to unite around him, says political scientist Alexander Kynev.
According to the chief editor of the portal “Kavpolit” Beslan Uspanov, Chechnya is the only region in the North Caucasus, where there were direct elections of the head region, in the other republics of the Director elected by the Parliament upon nomination by the President.
Elections in the Chechen
For the first time to the post of head of Chechnya Kadyrov approved the Parliament on 2 March 2007 for a term of four years. At the end of 2007 in the Republic was held a national referendum on the Constitution amendments that increase the term of office of the head of region and Parliament. The second time, Kadyrov became the head of Chechnya on March 5, 2011 — then he was assigned to lead Chechnya for five years already.
In September this year will be the first elections of the head of Chechnya, in which you may participate Kadyrov.
As a rule, the elections in Chechnya differ a great turnout. Votes for the current government in Chechnya all the time growing up: in the 2003 elections to the state Duma for the party “United Russia” voted 80,91% of the population, in 2007-m — 99,36%, in 2011-m — 99,48%. For Vladimir Putin in the 2004 presidential election voted to 92.3% of the Chechens. For Dmitry Medvedev in 2008 to 88.7%. And in 2012 voted for Putin already 99,76% of the electorate.
The adequacy of the results of the elections in Chechnya a real public sentiment is impossible to estimate, since the Republic is beyond electoral control, says Kynev. “But these results on elections get simply impossible,” — said the expert. To predict the results of elections of the head of Chechnya, the political scientist is not taken, noting that the results will be “as what they want to see Chechen authorities”.
Alternative shapes Kadyrov neither in the Republic nor in Russia, Kynev stressed. Those who are able publicly to oppose Kadyrov, are abroad or in a marginal field, said Kanev.
The election in this case will be of a character referendum, says political analyst Konstantin Kalachev. It would be difficult for someone to persuade to act as a spoiler to demonstrate the competitiveness and technical candidates who may be campaigning not for himself, but for Kadyrov, he said.
Most likely in addition to Kadyrov can run his own lieutenants, such as the current speaker of the Parliament of the Chechen Republic Magomed Daudov, who previously headed the administration of Kadyrov and the Deputy-the United Russia state Duma from Chechnya Adam Delimkhanov involves Uspanov.
Earlier the sources close to the presidential administration, told me that in Moscow for many reasons do not see an alternative to the current head of Chechnya. Kadyrov is a strong politician, he’s satisfied with Federal guidance and authority in the region, explained the bet on Kadyrov, the Kremlin Federal official familiar with the debate on the future leadership of Chechnya.
