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Moscow Times
August 27, 2004
Money, Phones for Chechen Voters
By Timur Aliev
Special to The Moscow Times

GROZNY -- Yakha Bisayeva, a 36-year-old Chechen refugee, did not want leave the relative safety of Nazran, Ingushetia, to go home to Grozny. But the unemployed mother of three reluctantly got in a gypsy cab this week to return in time for Sunday's presidential election.

The vote for to replace slain President Akhmad Kadyrov was not what brought her back, however. It was a promise from Chechen authorities to pay compensation for homes destroyed in fighting to those reporting to a Grozny bank two days ahead of the election.

"Many are supposed to receive the money on Friday. Up to several thousand will need to be there on that day," Bisayeva said.

Paying compensation on the eve of the election is one of several ways the pro-Moscow Chechen administration is trying to boost voter turnout Sunday.

The Kremlin's favored candidate, Chechen Interior Minister Alu Alkhanov, is widely expected to win after his strongest potential rivals refused to run or were disqualified -- much as when Kadyrov was elected president last October. Kadyrov garnered more than 80 percent of the vote, according to official results.

As in the last election, state media have been churning out positive reports about the favored candidate, including a get-together between Alkhanov and President Vladimir Putin last Sunday for a trip to Kadyrov's home village and talks about Chechnya's future at Putin's Sochi residence.

Moreover, Alkhanov's spin doctors are the same people on whom Kadyrov relied last year, and his campaign strategy is being shaped by the Kremlin, Alkhanov campaign adviser Vladimir Suvorov said in an interview.

Vladislav Surkov, deputy head of the presidential administration, is personally issuing instructions to Alkhanov's campaign team, Suvorov said.

A Kremlin spokesman declined immediate comment about the campaign Thursday.

In addition to compensation, Moscow recently offered Chechen residents an incentive to vote by allowing them to start signing up for cellphones without having to go through the Federal Security Service, said Murad Magomadov, an independent political analyst based in Grozny. A ban had been in place over FSB fears that Chechen rebels might use cellphones to coordinate attacks.

"The compensation and access to cellphones are signals to the population that they will receive everything if they come and vote the right way," Magomadov said.

But Grozny residents said they remain concerned about whether it will be safe to vote. Some 300 rebels attacked a number of police stations in Grozny last Saturday. The attack caught Chechen law enforcement officials and federal troops off guard, even though they had boosted patrols ahead of the election. Dozens of casualties were reported by both sides, and about 20 civilians were killed in crossfire outside City Hospital No. 9, doctors at the hospital said.

Apart from concerns for their personal safety, some residents said they were reluctant to go to polling stations because they doubt that their votes will count, given the reported massive vote rigging in the last election. The October vote was condemned as a farce by the Moscow Helsinki Group and other nongovernmental organizations that monitored it. The observers accused Chechen authorities of carrying out a large-scale falsification of the vote to ensure Kadyrov's victory.

"We all know perfectly well that Putin has already made the choice for me and for the entire Chechen people," said Natalya Ilyasova, a 32-year-old trader at a Grozny market.

While conceding Alkhanov's victory is all but certain, the owner of a Grozny construction materials store said maybe that is not a bad thing.

"It is clear that Moscow is promoting Alkhanov. However, if judged by his speeches, he doesn't seem to be bad," said the owner, Bislan Sentyabriyev. "He looks like a serious and skilled man."

Some voters may not feel compelled to take part because they are not impressed with Alkhanov, said Timur Muzayev, an independent political analyst.

"Kadyrov had a more charismatic personality and proved himself as a leader, whereas Alkhanov is more of a virtual figure whom we mainly see on television," he said.

Still, the head of the Chechen election committee predicted a high turnout and enough votes for a single candidate to prevent a second round.

"People will come to the elections. We expect the turnout to be high enough," committee head Abdul- Kerim Arsakhanov said in an interview Monday.

He said he expects one candidate to win 50 percent or more of the vote, which would remove the need for a runoff.

Given the predictability of the outcome, the election campaign has been smooth -- if not boring -- so far. Six candidates are taking part in the race in addition to Alkhanov. None is mounting a serious challenge because they are reluctant to upset Alkhanov or have been encouraged by the Chechen administration to run to create the semblance of a race, said Edilbek Khasmagomadov, an independent political analyst.

"These elections are senseless, as it is clear that there is no alternative and the winner is known beforehand," he said. "All they will achieve is to give a shade of legitimacy to the authorities, who rule as they please rather under the mandate handed them by society."

Vakha Visayev, an aide to acting Chechen President Sergei Abramov, is perhaps the only candidate who has tried to spice up the campaign by plastering posters across the region picturing him next to Kadyrov's powerful son Ramzan, the Chechen first deputy prime minister and head of the republic's presidential security team.

However, any intrigue quickly fizzled out when Ramzan Kadyrov publicly denied that he might be cultivating his own candidate and threw his support behind Alkhanov.

Several candidates have half-heartedly complained that Alkhanov is abusing his authority as interior minister. Among them is former Chechen Deputy Prime Minister Abdula Bugayev, who said on Aug. 8 that district election committees had been ordered to ensure Alkhanov's victory. Bugayev, however, failed to file his complaint formally with the Chechen election committee or any local court. He also did not provide any evidence to back his claim.

Arsakhanov, the top Chechen election official, said the lack of complaints shows the election campaign has been free of violations by Alkhanov and the other candidates.