The decision to elect a new leader of the Liberal Democratic Party will be made no earlier than the end of May
After the death of the founder and permanent leader of the LDPR, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, on April 6, Leonid Slutsky is the main and, in fact, uncontested contender for the post of chairman of the party. This is reported by Vedomosti, citing a source close to the Kremlin, as well as two interlocutors in the State Duma. The decision to elect a new LDPR leader will not be made until the end of May, the article says.
As one of the sources of the publication noted, Leonid Slutsky is accepted in the LPDR as a compromise figure and is ready to work with him. It is worth noting that since the death of Vladimir Zhirinovsky, Slutsky has been acting leader of the faction – previously it was also led by Zhirinovsky.
Earlier, in addition to Slutsky, governors Mikhail Degtyarev and Alexei Ostrovsky, State Duma deputies Andrei Lugovoy, Yaroslav Nilov, Alexei Didenko and other party members were also named among the possible candidates for the post of chairman of the LDPR.
Vedomosti notes that at present no decision has been made as to who will receive Zhirinovsky’s deputy mandate. The State Duma has not yet deprived him of his mandate in connection with his death, although the mandate commission prepared the relevant document on April 6.
After the State Duma decides to terminate Zhirinovsky’s powers, the LDPR, in accordance with the current legislation, will have 14 days to independently propose its candidacy to the Central Election Commission to fill the vacant seat. If this does not happen, the commission will decide on the transfer of the mandate on its own.
