The Central Election Commission announced on Saturday that the reason was errors in her application to register as a candidate. The ex-journalist wanted to advocate for the end of the war in Ukraine and the release of political prisoners.
Duntsova would have needed an initiative group to obtain signatures of support for registration as a candidate for president. According to their supporters, individual letter transpositions in names were interpreted as “serious errors” in the documents.
The head of the electoral commission, Ella Pamfilova, is considered a close confidant of President Putin. She said: “You are a young woman, you still have everything ahead of you. Every minus can be turned into a plus. Every experience is an experience.” Russian state media had previously linked the journalist to Putin’s opponent Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who lives in exile.
The decision came just three days after Dunzowa submitted her application. Critics of Putin see the rapid negative decision as evidence that no one with oppositional views is allowed to run against him in the first presidential election since the start of the war in Ukraine. When Duntsova announced her intention to run last month, observers described her as crazy, brave or part of a Kremlin-orchestrated plan to create the appearance of competition.
It is certain that Putin will emerge victorious in his fifth presidential election. The head of the Kremlin had the constitution changed specifically in order to be able to run again. According to the currently valid version of the constitution, the 71-year-old can run for the last time in 2030. The presidential term in Russia is six years.
