Analysts assessed Kadyrov's abnormally high result in the Chechen head elections.

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The electoral record of Ramzan Kadyrov, who received 99.85% of the votes in the Chechen head elections, does not confuse anyone; analysts noted that the logic of such a victory is unclear.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", in the Chechen head elections, 99.85% of the votes were cast for Ramzan Kadyrov, while his opponents Ismail Denilkhanov and Khalid Nakaev received 0.05% each, the Central Election Commission reported after processing 100% of the ballots. This result became a record for Kadyrov.

Analysts interviewed on September 22 by a correspondent of "Caucasian Knot" assessed Ramzan Kadyrov's unusually high result in the Chechen head elections.

Political scientist Andrey Kolesnikov* noted that the extraordinary numbers of votes for Kadyrov do not confuse anyone. "No one is worried or confused by the electoral absurdity anymore. The country consists of electoral sultanates, and few have doubts that Chechnya is also a political sultanate. In fact, this is the direction in which the entire Russian Federation is moving. Overall, high results should create an optical effect of an alternative majority and total unity. This is what Putin openly spoke about in his pre-election address, which was essentially a roadmap for the elections," he noted.

The President of the Assembly of the Peoples of the Caucasus Ruslan Kutaev* found it difficult to name the motives that led the Chechen authorities to announce such a result. "I don’t know what this gives him; he could show 50% or 150%. He needs this, and Putin needs this, and everyone needs this. <...> Whether this is a demonstration of power or something else is hard to say. I don’t know; I can’t evaluate this because I don’t understand the logic of his victory," he noted.

However, according to Kutaev*, the actions of the Chechen authorities will not create any problems for the United Russia party in other regions. "This creates no problems for anyone; they already live in a problem. They do what they want; no one believes anything. That’s the main answer to all this: whatever they do, no one believes them, that’s all," he concluded.

Let us remind you that in the 2021 elections, Ramzan Kadyrov received 99.7% of the votes, also breaking his previous record. In 2016, Kadyrov was supported by 97.94% of voters. In 2011, the elections for the head of Chechnya were not held: all deputies of the National Assembly of the republic supported Kadyrov's reappointment for a new term. Analysts pointed out that real political competition in Chechnya is not expected, and the participation of Denilkhanov and Nakaev in the elections only provides a formal alternative to Kadyrov.

* included in the register of foreign agents by the Ministry of Justice.

** the activities of the Meta company (which owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp) are banned in Russia.