Russia Stands Firm on 2-Term Presidents

Chairman of Russian Central Electoral Commission Alexander Veshnyakov speaks to the media during a press conference in Moscow, in this Monday, March 24, 2003 picture. Russia's Central Election Commission on Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2006, dismissed an appeal that called for allowing the president to serve more than two consecutive terms and could have allowed President Vladimir Putin to stay in power beyond 2008. (AP Photo/Misha Japaridze) (Misha Japaridze - AP)

MOSCOW -- Russia's top election body on Wednesday rejected a petition calling for a referendum on constitutional changes to allow President Vladimir Putin to run in 2008 elections for a third term in office.

Putin has insisted he will step down when his second terms ends, though several politicians and organizations have called for changing the constitution to allow presidents more than two consecutive, four-year terms.

On Wednesday, the Central Election Commission struck down the latest effort to have the term limits changed, dismissing a petition filed by the Accord and Stability group that had proposed a referendum on constitutional changes because the wording of the referendum question was illegal.

Under Russian law, plebiscites must ask voters to approve or reject a question or questions. In this case, however, the group wanted to ask people to vote against current law.

Putin has argued that the country's constitution be left intact, and he is believed to be trying to anoint a successor. But some analysts have speculated that he could choose to stay if the Kremlin felt it was unable to guarantee a successor would be elected.

The commission's verdict, ruling against the proposal on technical grounds, appeared to leave open the possibility for similar petitions to be filed.

Chechnya's Kremlin-backed Prime Minister Ramzan Kadyrov told reporters Wednesday that Putin should "be president for a third and a fourth term _ as long as he is healthy he should lead the country."

Andrei Ryabov, an analyst with the Gorbachev Foundation, called the commission's decision "ambiguous" because it avoided a judgment on the broader issue of amending the constitution.

"The issue of a third term can be ... successfully solved" any time before the elections are scheduled, Ryabov was quoted as saying by the Kommersant daily.

Other analysts suggested, however, that the decision by the election commission, a body seen as dominated by the Kremlin, meant Putin definitely would not run and was aimed at ending debate on the issue.

"All his recent statements suggest that he will not stay on," said Igor Bunin, head of the Center for Political Technologies think tank. "They (the Kremlin) want to close this chapter once and for all."