Independent candidate Boris Nadezhdin has collected more than 100,000 voter signatures in support of his candidacy for president of Russia, according to a post on his official website.
A total of 101,607 people supported Nadezhdin's nomination in 75 regions of the country.
The lawmaker, who once moved in political circles acceptable to the Kremlin, has emerged as an unlikely "peace" candidate ahead of the March vote.
"Thousands of Russians across the country, as well as emigrants abroad, including in Georgia, lined up to support him," AFP reported.
"I came here to sign for Nadezhdin ... because he is the candidate who opposes the special military operation," Avdeeva, 53, said.
"I want there to be some alternative. All the other candidates have the same agenda as Putin," she added.
According to Russian electoral law, to secure a valid nomination, Nadezhdin must receive a total of 100,000 signatures from more than half of Russia's regions, which must be submitted to the Central Election Commission (CEC). Since there is a limit of 2,500 signatures per region, Nadezhdin's team aims to submit signatures from as many as 40 regions.
On Monday evening, his campaign team announced that it had collected nearly 85,000 signatures. However, figures on the website show that the required number has so far been achieved in only eight regions.
"We have already collected 101 thousand signatures, but not all of these signatures will get things done. 105,000 valid signatures will need to be submitted to the CEC, so we need to collect as many as possible. Now we will set a goal of 150,000," says Nadezhdin's Telegram channel.
A representative from Nadezhdin's headquarters confirmed to the Meduza news site that the number of signatures is currently insufficient for registration.
The collection process in the regions will end on January 25, and signatures from Moscow residents registered in other regions will have a slightly longer term. /BGNES