Umarov's phrase about Kadyrov's non-alternative election causes misunderstanding in Chechnya

The election of the leader of Chechnya, won three years ago by Ramzan Kadyrov, could not be called an "election with alternative candidates," announced Djambulat Umarov, Minister of National Policy of Chechnya, on September 18. Residents of the Chechen Republic drew attention to the ambiguity of the statement voiced by the Minister.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the election of the leader of Chechnya was held on September 18, 2016. At the election, Ramzan Kadyrov got the support of more than 97 percent of voters.

"It was difficult to call that political action an 'election' with alternative candidates. Actually, there were candidates. They exercised their legal rights, and everything was more than democratic ... However, the action still could not be called an 'election.' It was a united, absolutely conscious and historical choice of the Chechen people, incomprehensible for many doubters," Djambulat Umarov, Minister of National Policy of Chechnya, wrote on his Instagram page on September 18.

Users of the social network left 34 comments under the above post, and authors of some posts criticized the Minister's statement.

"Apparently, Djambulat (Umarov) wanted to emphasize that Ramzan (Kadyrov) had no actual rivals as a leader, but his statement turned out to be so confusing and unambiguous that it could be misinterpreted. It turns out that he almost criticizes the election," the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was told by Salavdi, a local observer.

Djambulat Umarov had in mind that there was no alternative to Ramzan Kadyrov, explained Mikhail Roschin, Senior Researcher at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS). "And I think this is more or less true. At present, in Chechnya, there is no other figure to compete with Ramzan Kadyrov," Mikhail Roschin told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. The scientist noted that the Djambulat Umarov's statement was built in such a florid style to correspond to the "oriental traditions."

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on September 23, 2019 at 07:50 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.