Magomedsalam Magomedov was formally inaugurated on February 20 as
president of Daghestan, four years to the day after his father
Magomedali relinquished that post.
Since
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev proposed his presidential candidacy
on February 8, the younger Magomedov has repeatedly stressed his
commitment to promoting "the consolidation of society", presumably
meaning in the first instance, although he
did not say so explicitly, harmony between the various ethnic groups. Whether and how he can deliver on that pledge remains to be seen.
For
the past three months, there has been intense speculation about whether
Medvedev would name outgoing President Mukhu Aliyev to serve a second
term, and if not, which of the other four candidates
on the short list
would be selected. That speculation focused not just on the relative
merits and qualification of the five men and who in the Kremlin was
perceived as backing them, but on their ethnicity. When the collective
presidency on which each of Daghestan's 14 titular nationalities was
represented was abolished in 2003, it was on the unwritten
understanding that the post of president should alternate between the
republic's two largest ethnic groups, the Avars (who account for 29.4
percent of the total population of 2.7 million) and the Dargins (16.5
percent). Magomedali Magomedov, a Dargin, was succeeded in 2006 by
Aliyev, an Avar. Of the five prospective candidates whose names were
submitted to Medvedev in December, Aliyev and three others were Avars;
Magomedsalam Magomedov was the sole Dargin.
Most observers in
Makhachkala and Moscow initially anticipated that Medvedev would choose
between Aliyev and Medvedev's former fellow student at law school,
Magomed Abdullayev. Vremya.ru on February 9
reported
that Abdullayev had been allocated an office in the presidential
administration administration building in Makhachakala several months
earlier, presumably in anticipation that nothing could prevent his
nomination as president. Magomedov for his part
told the daily "Kommersant" that he was informed he had been picked only the day before the announcement was made public.
The
choice of Magomedov was therefore unexpected, but several factors may
have had a bearing on it. First, Aliyev may have disqualified himself
by his overt interference in the mayoral election in Derbent last
October. He reportedly sent virtually the entire cabinet to campaign on
behalf of incumbent mayor Feliks Kaziakhmedov, who according to
official returns was duly reelected with 67.5 percent of the vote. The
voting took place in an atmosphere of fear and intimidation, with up to
one third of all polling stations remaining closed. Supporters of
Kaziakhmedov's main rival, former Prosecutor General Imam Yaraliyev,
took to the streets
to protest the irregularities. In late December, Daghestan's Supreme
Court declared the outcome null and void and called for a repeat ballot.
Alternatively,
Medvedev may have opted to honor both the unwritten agreement on
alternating between an Avar and a Dargin as president, and a similarly
unwritten agreement concluded between Aliyev and then Russian President
Vladimir Putin in 2006 that Magomedsalam Magomedov should serve for
four years as parliament speaker and then succeed Aliyev as president.
Aliyev, however, violated that agreement by engineering the election in
April 2007 as parliament speaker of Izberbash Mayor Magomed Suleymanov
to replace Magomedov.
Finally, Putin recently criticized the
most prominent alternative Dargin candidate, Makhachkala Mayor Said
Amirov, in connection with the protracted stand-off between the
municipal authorities and the republic's main electricity supplier. The
city's chronic failure to pay its debts has led to repeated power
outages during the winter months. Irate residents of the capital
regularly take to the streets to protest those outages.
Despite the existence within the republican parliament of a number of rival factions, some united by ethnicity and
others by business interests,
deputies voted unanimously on February 10 to approve Magomedov. Several
prominent political figures who had fallen out with Aliyev, including
Yaraliyev and Kizlyar District head Saygid Murtuzaliyev,
showed up for that parliament session for the first time after a long absence.
In his
inaugural speech
on February 20, Magomedov singled out as priorities consolidation of
society, strengthening law and order, economic modernization, reducing
unemployment, and seeking dialogue with those Islamic militants who are
prepared to lay down their arms. He admitted that he has "no illusions"
that his job will be an easy one, and said he considers it
"irresponsible" to make "unrealistic" promises.
Daghestan's
cabinet resigned on February 21, the day after Magomedov's
inauguration, and he has not yet named a new prime minister. Under
Aliyev, the post of premier was held by a Kumyk, most recently by
Shamil Zaynalov. The Kumyks are Daghestan's third-largest ethnic group,
and
are angry
at the prospect of having to cede the post to an Avar. Regnum on
February 8 quoted Magomedov as saying that in order to preserve
national parity he would appoint an Avar as prime minister. But in a
subsequent interview with "Kommersant," he implied that ethnicity will
not after all be a consideration. "There is no quota system by
nationality written into the constitution. I consider all Daghestanis
equal and I will not select people for my team on the basis of their
nationality. I will pick them solely on the basis of their professional
capabilities," Magomedov
told the paper.
"We do not divide -- I personally do not divide -- Daghestanis into
Avars, Dargins, Kumyks, Lezgins, and so forth. We are one single
family, we are all Daghestanis," Magomedov said.
Aliyev was
conspicuous by his absence from Magomedov's inauguration, which
suggests that some Avars may seek to create obstacles for the new
president. But reclusive Moscow-based billionaire Suleiman Kerimov
did attend. Karimov is a Lezgin, as is former Prosecutor-General Yaraliyev.
http://www.rferl.org/content/Daghestans_New_President_Sworn_In/1965306.html