Chechen Leader Sees Future Chechnya As Presidential Republic

Chechnya ought to be a presidential republic, holds Ahmad Kadyrov, republican administration head. He does not think Chechnya needs any polls except presidential, while district governors ought to be appointed, as Mr. Kadyrov remarked to a Moscow research and practical conference on, "Constitutional Developments in the Chechen Republic: Practice, Goals, Prospects". The future Chechen president must be an "honest man who takes his people's plight to heart". A presidential poll cannot be appointed before all refugees come back to Chechnya, warned Ahmad Kadyrov. He called for a republican constitution drafted to be followed by a referendum. "Chechnya's fate is in the Chechen hands. No one--be it a parliament or any other body--is to approve the constitution. It must receive popular support at a referendum," the republican leader said emphatically.