Campaigning for Kadyrov violated federal law

The clergy's participation in campaigning for Ramzan Kadyrov is a direct violation of the Russian federal law, but it is a long-standing and widespread practice in Chechnya, Roman Udot, a co-chairman of the All-Russian Public Movement for the Protection of Voters' Rights "Golos" (Vote)*, and Ruslan Kutaev, President of the Assembly of Caucasian Nations, have stated.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the employees of the regional Spiritual Administration of Muslims (SAM) are directly and indirectly campaigning for the current leader of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, on the eve of elections, while residents of the republic complain that they are forced to vote.

On September 19, in Chechnya, apart from elections of Russian State Duma MPs, a direct election of the head of the republic will be held. Ramzan Kadyrov was registered as a candidate for the post from the "Edinaya Rossia" (United Russia) Party. According to political analysts, the outcome of the election is foregone.

Religious organizations are prohibited from taking part in election campaigns, Roman Udot has noted in his comment to the information about the participation of Chechen clergymen in campaigning for Ramzan Kadyrov.

In Chechnya, the Muslim clergy is subordinate to Ramzan Kadyrov and is a powerful resource for the election campaign, Ruslan Kutaev told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

According to Mr Kutaev, the republic's religious leaders have been openly participating in election campaigns for more than 20 years. He has suggested that the clergy were involved in political agitation in order to study the believers' mindset.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on September 16, 2021 at 11:55 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.