Said-Khamzat Gairbekov, a representative of the Chechen diaspora in Russia's southern Astrakhan region, has officially informed the Chechen Central Election Commission that he will run for president, Interfax quoted the commission officials as saying.

Gairbekov needs the support of 2 percent of the voters, more than 20,000 people, to be registered as a candidate for president, according to the commission.

60-year-old Gairbekov told Interfax that he is from Chechnya's Vedeno district and has been living in Astrakhan for the past several decades. He now works as deputy director of Astrakhan's home construction company.

Acting President of Chechnya Akhmad Kadyrov, the favorite in the presidential elections, is expected to make the decision about taking part in the vote this week.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has set the presidential elections in Chechnya on Oct. 5 this year.

"After that, all power will be in the hands of the legitimately elected leader of the republic," he told a meeting with Chechen officials in the Kremlin earlier this Month.

Chechnya, a war-torn republic in Russia's Northern Caucasus, won de-facto independent status in 1996 after Russia pulled out troops from it. Russian troops re-entered the lawless region in September 1999 following attacks by Chechen-based fighters in a neighboring region and a series of deadly bombings blamed on the rebels.

In March this year a referendum on a draft constitution and bills on republican presidential and parliamentary elections was held in the republic.

Overwhelming majority of Chechen voters approved the constitution that cements Chechnya's status as part of the Russian Federation. They also voted for the legislation setting the stage for future presidential and parliamentary elections.

Ella Pamfilova, head of President Vladimir Putin's human rights commission, said Monday that rebel leader Aslan Maskhadov should be allowed to run for president.

"If Maskhadov says he opposes terror and is able to prove it, this means he is also eligible for amnesty and could well run for president," Pamfilova was quoted by Interfax as saying.

"The more people in the elections who are somebody, the more likely it is that ... the people will have a real choice," Pamfilova said.

However, Russian Presidential aide Sergei Yastrzhembsky later Monday dismissed Pamfilova's statement, saying that Maskhadov is ineligible for amnesty and the upcoming presidential race in Chechnya.

What Pamfilova said is "her personal point of view," Yastrzhembsky said, noting the Kremlin does not intend to change its stance on negotiations with Maskhadov.

(Xinhua News Agency July 15, 2003)