War in Ukraine A Russian politician who advocates peace in Ukraine faces obstacles in the electoral campaign

A Russian politician advocating peace in Ukraine hit a roadblock in her campaign on Saturday when Russia’s Central Election Commission refused to accept the initial candidacy submitted by a group of supporters, citing errors in the submitted documents.

Former legislator Yekaterina Duntsova calls for peace in Ukraine and hopes to challenge President Vladimir Putin, promoting his vision of a “humane” Russia, “peaceful, friendly and ready to cooperate with the whole world on the basis of the principle of respect” .

“On December 23, the Central Election Commission refused to register my initiative group,” Duntsova wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

According to a Telegram channel close to Duntsova’s campaign, the commission found 100 errors in her candidacy documents, including errors in the spelling of names.

“You are a young woman, you still have everything ahead of you. Any negative point can always turn into a positive,” the head of Russia’s Central Election Commission, Ella Pamfilova, said at the commission meeting, addressing Duntsova.

Duntsova said she would appeal the decision to Russia’s Supreme Court and appealed to the leaders of the Yabloko (Apple) political party to nominate her as a candidate, as she said she would not be able to call a second meeting of supporters.

Also on Saturday, Russian state media claimed that Yabloko party founder and leader Grigory Yavlinsky would not run in the presidential election, citing the party’s press service. In a live interview on YouTube, once Duntsova’s appeal to Yabloko became known, Yavlinsky said that he “didn’t know” if the party would consider his candidacy.

Duntsova took her first steps towards candidate status on Sunday, when her candidacy was endorsed by 500 supporters, as required by Russian electoral law, and she submitted documents to Russia’s Central Election Commission on Wednesday to register her candidacy.

Several Russian parties also announced which candidates they will support in the presidential elections next March, in which Putin will almost certainly win.