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Chechens cast ballots in national elections
President, parliament being chosen
January 27, 1997
Web posted at: 11:00 a.m. EST (1600 GMT)GROZNY, Russia (CNN) -- Chechens were packing the polling places Monday, casting their ballots for a president and parliament in the Muslim-majority region where all of the major presidential candidates favor independence from Russia.
As many as half a million are expected to vote in the election, but the Kremlin has already dropped hints it may question the results.
A nearly two-year war for independence between Chechen separatists and Russian troops cost between 18,000 and 100,000 lives -- mostly civilians -- before then-Russian security chief Alexander Lebed spearheaded negotiations that stopped the fighting.
That deal paved the way for the elections, and called for a delay on a final decision on Chechen independence for five years.
Aslan Maskhadov, the guerrilla commander considered the front-runner in Monday's presidential vote, said that he would "bring order" to Chechnya and improve relations with Russia.
"We need to develop normal ties so that we won't have to wage war anymore," said Maskhadov, who negotiated the cease-fire with Lebed and is apparently favored by Moscow over the other candidates.
Many Chechens said they favored Maskhadov because he negotiated the peace agreement ending the bloody fighting that made Grozny and other parts of Chechnya nearly inhabitable.
"I don't look to Maskhadov as a leader," said Ludmilla Salnekova, a 57-year-old former teacher who said she lived in fear in a war-torn church compound. "But I will vote for him because he stopped the war."
Maskhadov's main rivals are acting President Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev, field commander Shamil Basayev, and rebel spokesman Movladi Udugov.
The 32-year-old Basayev is a wanted man in Russia for leading a deadly raid on a town in southern Russia in 1995, but is considered a national hero in Chechnya.
All four of the top contenders say they want to begin negotiations aimed at Chechnya's independence immediately. Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin has said he would work with whoever wins the Chechen vote, although Russian leaders have repeatedly vowed to prevent Chechnya from leaving the Russian federation.
Russian leaders have also complained that ethnic Russians who fled Chechnya will not be allowed to vote, but the Chechens said that polling places have been set up along the region's borders so that refugees may cross to vote.
If no candidate wins over 50 percent of the vote on Monday, a run-off election would be held in two weeks. A minimum of half of the eligible voters are required in order for the election to be valid.
Preliminary results are expected to be available by Tuesday, and certification of the final results will come within five days.
Correspondent Betsy Aaron and Reuters contributed to this report.
Related stories:
- Last Russian troops leave Chechnya - January 6, 1997
- Russian withdrawal from Chechnya nears end - December 30, 1996
- 6 Red Cross workers slain at Chechen hospital - December 17, 1996
- War-ravaged Chechnya marks bitter anniversary - December 11, 1996
Related sites:
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- Chechnya - As seen on Russian TV
- Interfax Homepage (Russian News Service)
- ITAR-Tass Homepage (Russian News Service)
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