MOSCOW, December 27. /TASS/. Nikolay Kharitonov, a member of the Russian State Duma (lower house of parliament) representing the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (KPRF), has filed documents with the Russian Central Election Commission (CEC) to get on the ballot as a candidate in Russia’s 2024 presidential election.

During the filing process, Kharitonov asked CEC members why commission chairwoman Ella Pamfilova had not come out to greet him. The candidate noted that he and Pamfilova had both been active participants in the inception of modern Russia’s parliamentary system. Later, CEC member Yevgeny Kolushin called Pamfilova and handed the cell phone to Kharitonov; he and Pamfilova agreed to meet after he completed all document filing formalities.

The KPRF formally nominated Kharitonov as its presidential candidate at a party congress on December 23. Kharitonov ran once before as the standard bearer of the KPRF in the 2004 presidential election campaign, in which he came in second with 13.69% of the vote. He has served as a member, or "deputy," of the lower house State Duma in all eight convocations and currently chairs the chamber’s Committee on the Development of the Far East and Arctic. Kharitonov is also a member of the presidium of the KPRF Central Committee.

Russia’s presidential election is scheduled for March 17, 2024; voting will take place on March 15-17.