General election in Chechnya in 2016

General election 2016
Kadyrov ( ER )			97.94%
Usmanov ( ROST )			0.84%
Batayev ( KPRF )			0.63%
Denilkhanov ( SR )			0.53%

Result for Ramzan Kadyrov of the United Russia party to Rajonen , the district of Argun and the districts of Grozny

The general election in Chechnya in 2016 was the fifth direct election of the head of the Chechen Republic , which is a Russian federal subject in the North Caucasus Federal District . It is the first election in Chechnya after the decision of June 1, 2012 to allow the heads of the federal subjects of Russia to be re-elected directly by eligible voters instead of parliaments. In addition, the direct elections were presidential elections until 2004 , as the title "President" was not changed to "Head of the Office" until 2010. The election took place at the same time as the parliamentary elections in Russia and the parliamentary elections in Chechnya on September 18, 2016.

Starting position

Ramzan Kadyrov has been head of the Chechen government since 2007; he took over a republic that was destroyed and divided by the First and Second Chechen Wars. Through his tendentious Islamist governance and simultaneous loyalty to the Russian government and Vladimir Putin , he was able to significantly reduce the importance of separatist groups in Chechnya in his favor. His largely independent domestic policy is tolerated by the Russian government through a compromise of Ramzan Kadyrov's foreign policy loyal to Russia. Domestic politics is often described as dictatorial , propaganda and strong repression make an opposition de facto impossible. Ramzan Kadyrov and his 20,000-strong private army, Kadyrowzy , which is not monitored by Russian political authorities and is therefore sometimes referred to as a mercenary group , are accused of serious human rights violations such as torture , executions and acts of war contrary to international law , for example in the war in eastern Ukraine . The human rights organization Human Rights Watch criticized the fact that before the election even the most moderate critics of the political leadership in Chechnya under Ramzan Kadyrov were terrorized and silenced. Chechnya is considered the most authoritarian republic of all federal subjects.

Candidates

Any Russian citizen who has reached the age of 30 can run for election. He can be supported by political parties and has to name three candidates, of which, if elected, one has to be chosen to represent the Chechen government in the Russian Federation Council . In addition, he must collect signatures from seven per cent of all municipal deputy or mayor, consisting of at least 75 percent of Rajone must come Chechnya.

candidate	Political party	Alignment	status
Gairsolt Batayev	Communist Party of the Russian Federation	communism	registered
Sultan Denilkhanov	Just Russia	Democratic socialism	registered
Ramzan Kadyrov	United Russia	Statism	registered
Idris Usmanov	Growth party	Economic liberalism	registered

Result

640,175 of the 675,279 eligible voters took part in the election. This corresponds to a voter turnout of 94.8 percent. Of the votes cast, 639.72 were valid and 383 invalid ballot papers. Thus 99.94% of the votes were valid and 0.06% of the votes were invalid. Only the valid votes are decisive for the voting shares of the candidates.

candidate	Political party	be right	proportion of
Ramzan Kadyrov	United Russia	626.980	97.94%
Idris Usmanov	Growth party	5,367	0.84%
Gairsolt Batayev	Communist Party of the Russian Federation	4,042	0.63%
Sultan Denilkhanov	Just Russia	3,403	0.53%

With the election, the incumbent Ramzan Kadyrov was confirmed in his first direct election in office.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Спикер парламента Чечни: Кадыров выступает за прямые всенародные выборы. Retrieved July 22, 2018 (Russian). 
2. ^ Deutsche Welle (www.dw.com): Guest commentary: Ramzan Kadyrov - Russia's number one Muslim | DW | 09/06/2017. Retrieved October 8, 2018 . 
3. ↑ Ukraine: Chechen warriors in eastern Ukraine - Kadyrov contradicts . In: ZEIT ONLINE . ( zeit.de [accessed on October 8, 2018]).
4. ↑ Gay hunt: Over 100 people evacuated from Chechnya . In: HuffPost Germany . April 4, 2018 ( huffingtonpost.de [accessed October 8, 2018]).
5. ↑ Russia: Suppression before elections in Chechnya . In: Human Rights Watch . August 30, 2016 ( hrw.org [accessed October 8, 2018]).
6. ↑ Ramzan Kadyrov: The dictator and his footballers . In: ZEIT ONLINE . ( zeit.de [accessed on October 8, 2018]).
7. ↑ Сведения о проводящихся выборах и референдумах. Retrieved July 22, 2018 .