11 October 2003, 18:59
Presidential elections in Chechnya cannot be considered free and democratic
The Chechen presidential elections on October 5 took place without the presence of any creditable international observers or independent media. However, human rights activists and independent journalists who monitored polling stations are confident that voter numbers and election results were falsified.
The pre-election campaign was neither free nor democratic. All radio and television networks that broadcast throughout the country were controlled by Akhmad Kadyrov. And because Moscow made it evident from the very beginning that it would only support and promote Kadyrov, all his serious rivals for the presidency (Jabrailov, Aslakhanov and Saidullayev) were gradually forced out of the race.
The aim of this election "farce" was to give Kadyrov legitimacy. For in 2000, Moscow appointed him as its administrator of the republic even though at that time the republic had its own legally elected and internationally recognized president and parliament. Kadyrov does not enjoy support from the Chechen populace and his "election" will not help achieve a peaceful solution to the Russian-Chechen conflict.
Elections in a land where its citizens are guarded by federal troops (whose orders come from Moscow) and armed security guards of one of the candidates cannot be considered to be free and democratic. And, therefore, it is not possible to regard newly-elected Akhmad Kadyrov as the legitimate president of the Chechen Republic.
Source: Prague Watchdog
