Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of Russia's Chechnya region and a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, suggested on October 7 that the upcoming presidential election, scheduled for March, should either be postponed due to the war in Ukraine or limited to one candidate, which would be Vladimir Putin.
Putin, who celebrated his 71st birthday on the same day, has not yet announced whether he will run for re-election, and he has stated that he will do so only after parliament officially calls for the election, which is expected to happen in December.
Putin has been the dominant figure in Russian politics for over two decades and has effectively quashed significant political opposition. Consequently, if he were to run, he would be virtually guaranteed to win the election and extend his presidency until 2030, as widely anticipated.
However, Russia's struggles in the ongoing war in Ukraine, referred to by Moscow as a "special military operation," have introduced uncertainty into the political landscape.
At a rally in the Chechen capital of Grozny, attended by approximately 25,000 people to commemorate Putin's birthday, Ramzan Kadyrov made his proposal.
He was quoted as saying, "I propose now, while the 'special military operation' is underway, to unanimously decide that we will have one candidate in the elections - Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin."
He also suggested temporarily postponing the elections because, in his view, there is no other candidate capable of defending the country under the current circumstances. Kadyrov, a Putin protege, has raised his public profile since the start of the war in Ukraine.
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