By Country / Russia
Kremlin Envoy Names Candidates For Chechen Republic Head
February 21, 2007
Kozak (center) with Ramzan Kadyrov in Grozny in July (ITAR-TASS)
Dmitry Kozak, President Vladimir Putin's envoy to the Southern Federal District, was in Grozny to consult Chechen political and civic leaders about potential presidential candidates.
After the meeting, Kozak said he would propose three candidates to the Kremlin: acting President Ramzan Kadyrov; the Chechen government's first deputy chief of staff, Muslim Khuchiyev; and the head of Grozny's Groznensky district, Shakhid Dzhamaldayev.
"Most of those who spoke at the meeting supported the candidacy of the acting Chechen president, Ramzan Kadyrov," Kozak told journalists. Other candidates were proposed too: the head of Grozny's Groznensky district, Shakhid Dzhamaldayev, and [Muslim] Khuchiyev, the Chechen president and government's first deputy chief of staff."
Kadyrov became acting president on February 15 following the resignation of President Alu Alkhanov.
Putin must nominate a presidential candidate for ratification by Chechnya's legislature.
(ITAR-TASS, Interfax)