The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Bashkortostan ruled on 16 July that President Murtaza Rakhimov's re-election last month was valid, RFE/RL's Moscow bureau reported. The court upheld the decision to reschedule the election from December to June 1998. Rakhimov's critics argued that holding the election six months early violated federal law. They say the election date was changed to allow Rakhimov to run for re-election. He will turn 65 in early 1999, and Bashkortostan's law on presidential elections says presidential candidates may not be within three months of turning 65. The Russian Supreme Court could still declare the Bashkortostan election invalid. It is to consider an appeal from two would-be candidates whose names were kept off the ballot in spite of Russian Supreme Court rulings (see ``RFE/RL Newsline'', 15 and 23 June 1998). LB
17 июля 1998г. Радио ``Свобода'' / ``Свободная Европа'' --- Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty