| Submit your comments on this article |
| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
| Chechen parliament approves Kadyrov as president |
| 2007-03-03 |
| The Chechen parliament has approved Ramzan Kadyrov as Chechen president in a near unanimous vote at a Friday meeting, Russian news agencies reported. Out of all the 40 members of the lower house in the regional parliament -- the People's Assembly of Chechnya, 39 voted for Kadyrov, and one ballot paper was damaged. Deputies to the upper house of parliament, the Council of the Republic, cast 17 votes for Kadyrov, and one ballot paper was found invalid, the Itar-Tass news agency said. Russian President Vladimir Putin nominated Kadyrov for Chechen president late Thursday and submitted the nomination to the Chechen parliament for approval. Kadyrov, 30, head of the Chechen government, was appointed acting Chechen president February 15, following the voluntary resignation of President Alu Alkhanov, who was later appointed as Russia's Deputy Justice Minister. "The decision on Kadyrov's candidature was made after long consultations with the Chechen public. President Putin supported Kadyrov's candidature on Thursday. This is the right decision," said Dmitri Kozak, official representative of the President in the Southern Federal District. "There is no alternative to Kadyrov. This is not only my personal opinion, but also that of the overwhelming majority of the Chechen population. His services to Chechnya in the restoration of the economy and the social sphere and in the establishment of peace and stability to the republic, are really great," Chairman of the People's Assembly Dukuvakha Abdurakhmanov was quoted as saying. |
| Posted by:Fred |