War Critic’s Presidential Bid Likely to Be Rejected by Russian Electoral Authorities

War Critic’s Presidential Bid Likely to Be Rejected by Russian Electoral Authorities
Credit: Shamil Zhumatov | Reuters

Russian electoral authorities are expected to reject the candidacy of Boris Nadezhdin, an outspoken critic of Russia’s war in Ukraine, due to issues with the signatures on his nomination papers. Nadezhdin, a former lawmaker and representative of the Civil Initiative political party, submitted 105,000 signatures to support his bid for the presidency in the March 2024 election.

According to supporters, a working group from the Russian Central Electoral Commission (CEC) has recommended rejecting Nadezhdin’s candidacy because 15.4% of the submitted signatures were found to be defective. This recommendation came following a meeting of the CEC on Monday.

Nadezhdin’s campaign has contested the findings and plans to challenge the decision at a full CEC meeting scheduled for February 7. Pavel Burlakov, Nadezhdin’s spokesman, asserted that the campaign collected signatures honestly and is prepared to contest the working group’s decision.

Political analysts suggest that the Kremlin, known for its tightly controlled political environment, is unlikely to permit Nadezhdin’s candidacy. They argue that allowing Nadezhdin to run could potentially pose a significant challenge to the Kremlin’s control, which it seeks to avoid. The Kremlin has downplayed Nadezhdin’s support, indicating it is not overly concerned about his candidacy.

Daniele Naddei

Daniele Naddei is a journalist at Parliament News covering European affairs, was born in Naples on April 8, 1991. He also serves as the Director of the CentroSud24 newspaper. During the period from 2010 to 2013, Naddei completed an internship at the esteemed local radio station Radio Club 91. Subsequently, he became the author of a weekly magazine published by the Italian Volleyball Federation of Campania (FIPAV Campania), which led to his registration in the professional order of Journalists of Campania in early 2014, listed under publicists. From 2013 to 2018, he worked as a freelance photojournalist and cameraman for external services for Rai and various local entities, including TeleCapri, CapriEvent, and TLA. Additionally, between 2014 and 2017, Naddei collaborated full-time with various newspapers in Campania, both in print and online. During this period, he also resumed his role as Editor-in-Chief at Radio Club 91.
Naddei is actively involved as a press officer for several companies and is responsible for editing cultural and social events in the city through his association with the Medea Fattoria Sociale. This experience continued until 2021. Throughout these years, he hosted or collaborated on football sports programs for various local broadcasters, including TLA, TvLuna, TeleCapri, Radio Stonata, Radio Amore, and Radio Antenna Uno.
From 2016 to 2018, Naddei was employed as an editor at newspapers of national interest within the Il24.it circuit, including Internazionale24, Salute24, and OggiScuola. Since 2019, Naddei has been one of the creators of the Rabona television program "Calcio è Passione," which has been broadcast on TeleCapri Sport since 2023.