ISW Explains Why Kremlin Banned Nadezhdin's Registration

The Russian authorities decided to abandon their own plan.

Recently the Central Election Commission (CEC) of the Russian Federation said that 15% of the signatures in support of the anti-war presidential candidate Boris Nadezhdin are fake. The Russian CEC recommends not to register the politician as a candidate.

In response, Nadezhdin said that he was ready to bring new signatures, and was also preparing an appeal to the Supreme Court of Russia.

Analysts from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) decided to find more information about Nadezhdin's registration.

Not so long ago, the presidential candidate announced that he had gotten the necessary 200,000 signatures. At the same time, the CEC's requirement under the law is 100,000 signatures. The CEC of the Russian Federation said that it will announce its final decision only on February 7, but, most likely, it will not be registered as a presidential candidate in Russia.

ISW assessed on January 23 that the Kremlin may intend to use the March 2024 election as an unofficial referendum on Russia’s war in Ukraine by allowing Nadezhdin to run in an election

The Kremlin may have backtracked from this plan out of concern that Nadezhdin might gain too many votes. The CEC’s valid signature requirement is the logical mechanism for ending Nadezhdin’s presidential campaign whether or not the Kremlin was initially willing to tolerate the campaign.

The Kremlin's propaganda is trying to deface Nadezhdin and his campaign in every possible way due to numerous signatures for him. The deputy chairman of the CEC of the Russian Federation said that Nadezhdin's headquarters collected the signatures of Russians who are no longer alive, which means that he casts doubt on the entire electoral process in the country.