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Transcript/Script((PLAYBOOK SLUG: RUSSIA OPPOSITION CANDIDATE
HEADLINE: Ahead of March Poll, Russia Disqualifies Only Pacifist Challenger to Putin
TEASER: Central Election Commission’s decision leaves Russians with two choices in next month’s presidential election: vote for war, or don’t vote at all
PUBLISHED AT: 02/05/2024 at 2:15pm
BYLINE: VOA MOSCOW BUREAU
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: Moscow
VIDEOGRAPHER: Ricardo Marquina-DO NOT NAME FOR SECURITY REASONS, Agencies
VIDEO EDITOR:
SCRIPT EDITORS: LR, sb
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA Original, REUTERS. APTN
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV _X_ RADIO __
TRT: 2:57
VID APPROVED BY: MAS
TYPE: TVPKG
EDITOR NOTES: ))
((INTRO)) [[Russia is preparing for the presidential votes next month, an election overshadowed by the country’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine – nearing its second anniversary – and a crackdown on political opponents and the media. Marcus Harton narrates this report from the VOA Moscow bureau.]]
((NARRATOR))
Boris Nadezhdin is the hope of pacifist voters in Russia, the only electoral candidate whose platform includes a proposal for immediate peace talks with Kyiv.
But his candidacy could quickly disappear.
The Russian Central Election Commission says 15 percent of signatures among the more than 100,000 that the candidate presented to endorse his candidacy are invalid.
For some independent observers, this is a political decision aimed at preventing incumbent President Vladimir Putin from having to face a pacifist.
[[RADIO VERSION: Dmitry Potapenko is an economist and political analyst. He says the Election Committee is just a technical mechanism. He says a decision will be made by completely different parts of the leadership. He calls Russia a feudal state governed by the Lieutenant-Generals and says Vladimir Putin does not have to take part in any elections.]]
((Dmitry Potapenko, Political Analyst (MAN IN RUSSIAN) (SKYPE )
“The Election Committee is just a mechanism, a technical one. A decision will be made in completely different spots. Russia is an absolutely feudal state governed by the Lieutenant-Generals. Vladimir Putin does not have to take part in any elections.”
((NARRATOR))
Nadezhdin is running as the candidate of the 10-year-old center-right Civic Initiative party. His campaign team is well aware that there is a high chance he will be removed from the electoral race, but he is confident he has popular support.
[[RADIO VERSION: He says it’s impossible to prevent a person who has collected hundreds of thousands of signatures from taking part in elections.]]
((Boris Nadezhdin, Russian Presidential Candidate MALE IN RUSSIAN))
“It is impossible to prevent a person who actually collected hundreds of thousands of signatures from participating in political elections.”
((NARRATOR))
Nadezhdin says he will appeal. But if he is ultimately out of the race, Vladimir Putin will not have to face any candidate who questions his vision of the war.
With political figures such as opponents Alexey Navalny or Sergei Udaltsov behind bars, only the liberal Yabloko party was officially opposed to the so-called special military operation, but the party has decided not to take part in this poll.
[[RADIO VERSION: Its chairman is Nikolay Rybakov. He says that for 30 years and longer, people were in effect told their choices didn’t matter, and election results were known in advance. He says the message was, “your voice means nothing; you can do nothing; all politicians are the same.”]]
((Nikolay Rybakov, Yabloko Party MALE IN RUSSIAN)) (( VOA))
“For thirty years or even going deeper in history the people were told that their own choice was of no significance. The results of the elections are known in advance. ‘Your voice means nothing. You can do nothing. All politicians are similar.’”
((NARRATOR))
Vladimir Putin's most likely opponents will be the Communist Party and the and the ultra-nationalist Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, both of which support the invasion of Ukraine. The Just Russia – For Truth party did not present a candidate and endorsed Putin. Its slogan: “For a great country, for Putin.”
With the campaign dominated by the war in Ukraine, Russians will be called to the polls with practically two options, vote for war, or not vote at all.
((For the VOA Moscow Bureau, Marcus Harton, VOA News))
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