Seven contenders to run for Russian presidential election

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, January 29, 2004

Seven contenders to run for Russian presidential election

Seven Russian politicians will compete for the country's March 14 presidential campaign, which is widely believed to see a landslide victory by Russia's incumbent President Vladimir Putin.

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Seven Russian politicians will compete for the country's March 14 presidential campaign, which is widely believed to see a landslide victory by Russia's incumbent President Vladimir Putin.

By the deadline of registration at 1500 GMT Wednesday, seven contenders had delivered their materials or their supporters' signatures to the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) to qualify for the poll.

Under Russia's electoral law, candidates not running on party ticket must collect no less than 2 million and a maximum of 2.5 million signatures to register.

Putin handed in his collected signatures on Friday and is expected to easily defeat his other rivals to win a second four-year term.

A latest opinion survey shows that nearly 80 respondents would vote for Putin if the poll was held Sunday while support rate for other hopefuls reached no more than 10 percent.

Speaker of the Federation Council Sergei Mironov, nominated by the Life Party of Russia, handed his signature lists on Monday, and Ivan Rybkin, former chairman of the Russian Security Council, did it on Tuesday.

Sergei Glaziev, co-chairman of the Rodina (Motherland) bloc, and Irina Khakamada, former co-chairperson of the Union of Right-Wing forces, handed over their documents to the CEC just hours before the Wednesday deadline.

Oleg Malyshkin from the Liberal Democratic Party and Nikolai Kharitonov from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation have already been registered as candidates without handing signature lists.

The two competitors enjoyed the privilege due to the recommendation of their parties, which won seats in the State Dumain the parliamentary elections last December.

A special group, consisting of officers with the Interior Ministry and the Federal Security Service, and specialists in handwriting and staff of the passport and visa services, is checking the signatures.

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