19 candidates are going to contest Chechnya presidency

Chechnya's elections commission at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, July 14, will stop accepting documents required to register candidates for the post of republic's president.

Abdul-Kerim Arsakhanov, chairman of the Chechen election commission, said that 19 people had come forward to run for president of Chechnya, with only 17 of them opening election accounts in Sberbank. "Documents necessary for registration have so far been submitted by six challengers, with two of them collecting voter signatures in their support and four, who include the main contender, acting interior minister of the republic Alu Alkhanov, making money deposits," he added.

Arsakhanov recalled that the law gives the republican election commission ten days to check candidates' documents and decide to register them. "In that way, July 24 will be the day when the short list of claimants to presidential post will become known," he noted.

An early election of Chechnya president called following the assassination by terrorists on May 9 of Akhmad Kadyrov, head of executive branch, will be held on August 29.