Dagestani experts associate 2016 with election problems, public utilities and human rights issues

Local experts believe that a series of events that took place in 2016 "knocked down" the rating of the Dagestani leader and the rating of his team.

At the time of his appointment, Ramazan Abdulatipov made resonant statements, and many Dagestanis associated some hope with him. However, later, when people began to see that the situation was not changed in fact, Ramazan Abdulatipov started to lose the trust of the local population. This opinion was voiced by Magomed Magomedov, the deputy editor-in-chief of the "Chernovik" (Draft).

Magomed Magomedov believes that one of the reasons for the deterioration of the Dagestani leader's rating is in the fact that the numerous personnel changes at the Makhachkala Mayoralty still failed to resolve the key municipal problems in the capital of Dagestan.

The experts interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" also express the unanimous opinion that one of the key factors that deteriorated the Ramazan Abdulatipov's rating in 2016 was numerous violations committed in the course of the elections.

"Violations committed at the elections were massive in their nature, and that never took place earlier. Due to technical means, those violations were made public," notes Gadjimurad Sagitov, the editor-in-chief of the weekly "The Right Thing".

The experts interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" also point to the fact that in 2016, Dagestan faced a widespread practice of inclusion of names of locals in police prevention registration lists.

According to Magomed Magomedov, illegal actions of law enforcers have enhanced the activities of the militants of the armed underground, who in the last days of 2016 committed several attacks on policemen.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.