Kremlin's position promises no return of direct elections in Northern Caucasus

Since the start of 2017, in the North-Caucasian Federal District (NCFD), direct elections have been held only of the heads of 75 villages; almost all – in North Ossetia. The remaining heads of North-Caucasian municipalities were elected by local deputies. The Kremlin is not interested in direct elections in Northern Caucasus, said an activist of the public movement named “Golos” (Vote).

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Karachay Elders called for the return of direct elections in Northern Caucasus.

According to Vitaly Averin, a lawyer and the coordinator of the network of regional branches of the “Golos”, “in recent years, residents of the NCFD’s regions want to elect their heads themselves.”

However, as he has noted, the abolition of direct elections is regulated by the law and is not anti-constitutional.

In the opinion of Professor Ismail Aliev, Doctor of Technical Sciences, heads of regions should be elected by the population thereof, by the people, familiar with regional problems.

According to Kada Khalkechev, the Chairman of the Congress of Karachay People, as a result of the cancellation of direct elections, "the appointed leaders became isolated from the society."

He has added that the appeal of the elders of Karachay-Cherkessia “was already supported in Chechnya, Dagestan, Kabardino-Balkaria and North Ossetia.”

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