Ramzan Kadyrov took office as the head of Chechnya.

Ramzan Kadyrov officially took office as the head of Chechnya today, promising in his inauguration speech to respect the rights of residents. The ceremony took place on Kadyrov's 50th birthday.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", on September 30, Ramzan Kadyrov reported to Vladimir Putin on the results of the elections held in Chechnya. Voting took place from September 18 to 20, Kadyrov received a record 99.85% of the votes, while his opponents Ismail Denilkhanov and Khalid Nakayev received 0.05% each.

Today, a ceremony of inauguration of Ramzan Kadyrov as the head of Chechnya took place in Grozny, reported RIA "Novosti".

"I swear to respect and protect the rights and freedoms of citizens, to comply with the Constitution of the Russian Federation, to comply with and protect the Constitution of the Chechen Republic, and to faithfully serve the multinational people," Kadyrov's words were quoted by the agency.

Today, Ramzan Kadyrov is celebrating his 50th birthday. He attended the ceremony in national attire accompanied by his son Adam Kadyrov, the message said.

Analysts pointed to the lack of alternatives in the elections for the head of Chechnya

Earlier, analysts pointed out the absence of real competition in the elections for the head of Chechnya. Blogger Tumso Abdurakhmanov* called Ismail Denilkhanov and Khalid Nakayev technical candidates who did not represent opposition to Kadyrov. "Both are ordinary representatives of Kadyrov's team assigned to play the role of technical candidates," he told a correspondent of "Caucasian Knot". A Chechen political scientist, who commented on the condition of anonymity, also assessed the competitiveness of the elections as extremely low, pointing to the lack of noticeable competition for Kadyrov's electorate and public confrontation with him.

After the voting, political scientist Andrey Kolesnikov* called Kadyrov's result a manifestation of "electoral absurdity". In his opinion, such high figures create an "optical effect of an alternative majority and total unity". Chechen political scientist Ruslan Kutaev* also doubted the reliability of the voting results. "Whatever they do – no one believes them," he concluded.

Human rights defenders pointed to pressure on residents affecting the possibility of free expression of will. Human rights defender Maxim Rudnev reported threats of dismissals and expulsions, coercion to participate in voting and other mass events. "The administrative resource is working fully both during elections and outside of them," he noted.

"Caucasian Knot" reported that residents of Chechnya have repeatedly complained about violations during previous electoral campaigns. For example, after the 2021 elections, teachers and doctors talked about "carousel" voting and stated that they were taken against their will to vote at different polling stations. During the 2016 elections, residents of the republic reported mass violations and claimed that budget employees were forced to participate in voting and vote as instructed under the threat of dismissal.

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

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