207,000 people participated in the primaries in Dagestan amid reports of coercion and bribery.

Forcing public sector workers to participate in primaries has become commonplace throughout Dagestan. Promises of financial payments to voters, as reported by an activist from DagOgni, are an attempt by non-systemic candidates to circumvent administrative resources. 207,000 people took part in the republic's primaries.

As "Caucasian Knot" reported, school and hospital workers in Dagestanskiye Ogni are being forced to participate in the United Russia primaries in the interests of specific candidates, activist Ramis Agabekov stated in an appeal to security forces and the leadership of Dagestan.

Activist Ramis Agabekov stated that so far there has been absolutely no reaction to his appeal.

"They express dissatisfaction, but there is no one to point the finger at," he told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.
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‎The activist described the methods and mechanism Coercion and bribery.

‎"There are several types of coercion. There are public sector workers, teachers, for example, and employees of other government organizations. They were specifically coerced into voting, given lists of several people from the mayor's team: here are a few people, check their boxes for them and send a screenshot. Furthermore, they coerced not only them to vote themselves, but also their family and friends to vote and send a screenshot," Agabekov said.

They come and collect their 3,000 rubles. 1,000 rubles for registration, before voting even begins. And then 2,000 rubles per vote.
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‎The bribery, according to him, was carried out openly at several locations in the city. "They set up these spots, recruited people, and they came and collected their 3,000 rubles. 1,000 rubles for registration, before voting even started. And then 2,000 rubles per vote, as I showed in my video. They gathered at the service station, where you wouldn't normally see one or two people. But there was a crowd of women there who had come specifically to vote," Agabeckov emphasized.

‎ He noted that the son of a businessman who does contract work for the mayor's office received the most votes in the primaries. "Right now, his organization is doing contract work paving streets. His son is running, despite not being a local resident. He might not even know where our city is. And absolutely no one here knows him. But he gets 1,665 votes in the primaries and comes in first. Even the city mayor, with 700 votes, is in second place," Agabekov explained.
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‎In his opinion, similar situations involving coercion of public sector employees could occur in other cities and districts of Dagestan.

‎"But such an absurd situation as the one we have in our city is nowhere to be found," Agabekov believes.

Teachers call him at home and say: urgently organize six votes.

He said that an acquaintance of his even pulled his child out of school due to coercion. "He believes that his son won't learn anything good if teachers call him at home and say: urgently organize six votes, and in my family, he says, there are only three people who can vote," Agabekov said.

‎But the teachers themselves are also under duress, he noted.‎ "Specifically, teachers are threatened with cutting these incentive payments, some kind of accruals, dismissal," Agabekov explained.
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‎A Dagestani journalist, on condition of anonymity, stated that coercion of public sector employees - teachers, doctors, kindergarten workers, and also students - to vote in primaries for strictly specified candidates occurred in all cities and districts of Dagestan.

‎‎"The scheme is roughly as follows: the head of the district gathers the directors of schools or other subordinate organizations, where a large number of "He gives his subordinates a task and assigns it to them. Those responsible pass it on to the lower echelons, demanding screenshots confirming the vote," he said.

According to the journalist, the case uncovered by Agabekov is precisely an attempt by non-systemic candidates to circumvent administrative resources through financial means.

More than 207,000 people took part in the primaries in Dagestan

A total of about 600 candidates were registered to participate in the preliminary voting in Dagestan, including 526 for the People's Assembly of Dagestan and 69 for the State Duma. More than 273,000 voters registered, and more than 207,000 voted. This is over 75% of those verified, according to Dagpravda.

Five incumbent State Duma deputies from Dagestan appeared to be in unwinnable positions. Abdulkhakim Gadzhiev and Biysultan Khamzaev lost to SVO member Enver Nabiyev in the Makhachkala constituency, Jamaladin Gasanov came in fourth in the Buinaksk constituency, and Murad Gadzhiev came in second in the Derbent constituency. Furthermore, Saygidpasha Umakhanov placed only 12th on the list, Kommersant reports.

In the preliminary vote in the Dagogninsky electoral district, Amir Abdullayev, a native of the village of Khuchni in the Tabasaran district and a gas controller for Gazprom Mezhregiongaz Makhachkala, took first place with 1,665 votes. Zamir Gadzhimuradov, the mayor of Makhachkala, came in second with 700 votes, according to information on the United Russia website.

In September 2026, on a single voting day, 784 parliamentary seats will be up for grabs. Elections for 777 rural settlement deputies and seven rural settlement heads will also be held in 16 municipalities in Dagestan, TASS reported on March 10.

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