Businessman to Run for Chechen Presidency

A little-known businessman became the first person to declare his intention to run for president of Chechnya, officials said, in an Oct. 5 election the Kremlin hopes will help end the nearly four-year conflict in the breakaway republic.

Said-Khamzat Gairbekov, deputy director of a construction company, informed Chechnya’s election commission that he intended to run, according to the Interfax news agency.

Chechnya’s Kremlin- appointed acting president, Akhmad Kadyrov, is widely believed to be running, although he has not officially declared.

Human rights groups fear the election is simply an attempt to legitimize Kadyrov’s control, and they say a free vote is impossible in conditions of war.