Dagestani activists called the elections for the head of the republic staged.

The outcome of the elections for the head of Dagestan is predetermined, fake candidates have been put up against Fedor Shchukin, said the Coordination Council of NGOs of the republic, calling on deputies to replace one of the candidates and hold public debates between them.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", Putin submitted three candidates for the post of head of Dagestan. Among the candidates proposed by the head of state are the acting head of Dagestan Fedor Shchukin, the deputy chairman of the republic's parliament Kamil Davdiev, and the head of the CPRF faction in the People's Assembly of Dagestan Samir Abdulhalikov. The election of the head of Dagestan will take place in the region's parliament on October 15.

Participants of the meeting of the Coordination Council of NGOs of Dagestan pointed to the obvious staging of the electoral process for the post of head of Dagestan, the predetermined nature of their results, and the candidates put up against the representative of "United Russia" Fedor Shchukin from other parties were called fake, lacking support among deputies and in society, according to a letter from the deputy chairman of the Coordination Council of NGOs of the Republic of Dagestan Nabi Akhadov, which was published today in his Telegram channel by the chairman of the Coordination Council of NGOs of Dagestan Shamil Khadulaev.

"For example, the chairman of the Dagestan regional branch of the party 'Just Russia' Kamil Davdiev, who registered as a candidate for the post of head of the Republic of Dagestan for the third time, should not have participated in these elections at all, since Davdiev is one of those who proposed Shchukin's candidacy to the President of the Russian Federation for the post of head of the Republic of Dagestan. Moreover, Davdiev previously participated as a candidate twice and both times received only two votes, he was not supported even by his party members," the message states.

Participants of the meeting of the Coordination Council of NGOs of Dagestan decided to appeal to the leadership and deputies of the parliament with a request to replace Davdiev's candidacy with another. To this end, they are calling for the elections of the head of the republic to be postponed for a month so that candidates can present their programs and prepare for public debates.

"The people of Dagestan want this," the message states.

It should be noted that on May 4, 2026, Putin signed a decree on the resignation of the head of Dagestan Sergey Melikov and appointed the acting head of the republic Fedor Shchukin, who was the chairman of the Supreme Court of the region.

During his tenure as head of Dagestan, Melikov failed to stabilize the situation in the republic. Disorders at the Makhachkala airport, protests against mobilization, and terrorist attacks in Makhachkala and Derbent resonated throughout the country, analysts pointed out. According to them, the sluggishness in eliminating the consequences of the flooding in the spring of 2026 was the last factor that led to the decision on his resignation.