Central Electoral Commission Chairman Aleksandr Ivanchenko on 23 June called for investigating whether all candidates seeking to compete in the 14 June presidential election in Bashkortostan were granted equal conditions for opening campaign funds, ``Kommersant-Daily'' reported on 24 June. Ivanchenko said his commission will look into the matter and will announce its conclusions at an upcoming Supreme Court hearing. Two would-be candidates are seeking to have the election result overturned, saying they were unfairly barred from the competition (see ``RFE/RL Newsline'', 15 and 23 June 1998). Speaking to journalists in Moscow on 23 June, Bashkir President Murtaza Rakhimov defended the conduct of the election and cast doubt on whether the Supreme Court will be objective in its consideration of the case, RFE/RL's Moscow bureau reported. LB
24 июня 1998г. Радио ``Свобода'' / ``Свободная Европа'' --- Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty