Gorbachev Qualifies for Ballot
Mikhail S. Gorbachev qualified Saturday to be listed on the ballot for Russia’s June presidential election.
The last Soviet president is the fourth candidate to be registered by the Central Electoral Commission, which certified that he had collected the required 1 million voter signatures, Russian news agencies said.
He joins Communist Party leader Gennady A. Zyuganov, President Boris N. Yeltsin and ultranationalist Vladimir V. Zhirinovsky on the ballot.
Gorbachev, 65, has little chance of winning the June 16 election. He is unpopular among Russians, blamed by hard-liners for allowing the Soviet Union to collapse and criticized by others for waffling on reforms. His standing in nationwide polls is about 1%.
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