A third candidate for the presidency of Russia withdrew from the election race

Independent candidate for the Russian presidential election This Wednesday, Anatoly Badashov became the third person to drop out of the election race two months before the election.Next March is scheduled.

Badashov, a popular blogger representing the Green Party, made the decision after visiting the headquarters of the country's Central Election Commission (CEC) with the necessary documents to carry out his registration, although he ultimately decided not to provide them. The candidate must collect at least 300,000 signatures.

“I am not going to continue in this 2024 cycle. Yes, we have done a great job, we have done the impossible. No other green politician has risen so high. According to several Russian media, “I am the first green candidate in the history of the Russian presidential election,” he said during a press conference.

Thus, pointing out that today is the last day to submit the necessary documents for nomination registration, he regretted that despite mentioning the number of signatures he had collected, he was “not ready”.

His decision comes soon after the founder Russian Party for Freedom and Justice, Andrey Bogdanov, He also announced his resignation, which was previously joined by Sergey Baburin, who confirmed that he would support current President Vladimir Putin. Elections are scheduled to begin on March 15 and run through March 17, with citizens allowed to vote for the first time within three days.

There are currently four candidates registered by the CEC: Leonid Slutsky, Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR), Nikolai Zharidonov, Communist Party of Russia (KPRF), Vladislav Davankov, for the New People, and Putin, who is presented as an independent.

In addition, Anatoly Batashev, independent, Sergei Malinkovych, the Russian Communist Party and Boris Nadeshtin, a civic initiative and critic of the invasion of Ukraine, are among the more likely candidates.

The CEC, which has already rejected the registration of four candidates, has February 10 to decide on the registration of the candidates. According to Russian law, candidates from extraparliamentary bodies must provide at least 100,000 signatures., rising to 300,000 for independents, including Putin. The President completed the task without a hitch.

Russian President Vladimir Putin registered on Monday as a candidate for the March 17 presidential election, in which he will run for re-election. The fifth is a six-year period In front of the Kremlin.

The decision adopted by the CEC indicates that at 11:23 on January 29, Vladimir Putin, born in 1952, was registered as a candidate for the post of President of the Russian Federation.

The Election Commission noted that it found only 0.15% of invalid signatures (91) out of 60,000 analyzed – the maximum allowed is 5%.

Putin's group said days ago that it had collected more than two million signatures, although opposition to the Kremlin has questioned this, as they say no one has lined up in front of the presidential administration's headquarters across the country.

The current Russian leader has been leading the country since 2000 -With a gap of four years as Prime Minister (2008-12)- He is contesting as an independent candidateBut it has the backing of the Kremlin's United Russia party, which controls both houses of the Russian parliament.

(with information from Europa Press)