# 2024 Chelyabinsk Oblast gubernatorial election

The 2024 Chelyabinsk Oblast gubernatorial election took place on 7–8 September 2024, on common election day. Incumbent Governor Aleksey Teksler was re-elected to a second term in office.

## Background

In March 2019 first-term Governor of Chelyabinsk Oblast Boris Dubrovsky announced his resignation and was replaced by First Deputy Minister of Energy Aleksey Teksler. Teksler was previously viewed as the likely replacement for Governor of Murmansk Oblast Marina Kovtun, who resigned two days after Teksler's appointment to Chelyabinsk Oblast. Dubrovsky's resignation was expected as in August 2018 he was indicted for conspiracy by the Federal Antimonopoly Service, Dubrovsky later fled Russia and was charged with abuse of power in October 2019.
Teksler ran for a full term as an Independent and handily won the September 2019 election with 69.30% of the vote, as his nearest challenger, Konstantin Natsiyevsky (CPRF), received just 12.02%. In June 2020 Governor Teksler joined United Russia party, and later this year led the party list in the Legislative Assembly of Chelyabinsk Oblast election.

## Candidates

In Chelyabinsk Oblast candidates for Governor can be nominated by registered political parties or by self-nomination. Candidate for Governor of Chelyabinsk Oblast should be a Russian citizen and at least 30 years old. Candidates for Governor should not have a foreign citizenship or residence permit. Each candidate in order to be registered is required to collect at least 7% of signatures of members and heads of municipalities. In addition, self-nominated candidates should collect 0.5% of signatures of Chelyabinsk Oblast residents. Also gubernatorial candidates present 3 candidacies to the Federation Council and election winner later appoints one of the presented candidates.

### Declared

| Candidate name, political party | Occupation | Status | Ref. |
| Eldar Gilmutdinov Communist Party | Member of Chelyabinsk City Duma (2019–present) Individual entrepreneur | Registered | |
| Vitaly Pashin Liberal Democratic Party | Member of Legislative Assembly of Chelyabinsk Oblast (2021–present) Former Member of State Duma (2016–2021) 2014 and 2019 gubernatorial candidate | Registered | |
| Stepan Solovyov Green Alternative | Deputy chairman of Green Alternative party 2024 Samara Oblast gubernatorial election | Registered | |
| Aleksey Teksler United Russia | Incumbent Governor of Chelyabinsk Oblast (2019–present) | Registered | [12][13] [14] |
| Yaroslav Shcherbakov Yabloko | Businessman 2019 gubernatorial candidate | Failed to qualify | |
| Vladimir Medvedev Party of Pensioners | Sales director veteran of the Russian invasion of Ukraine | Did not file | |

### Declined

* Valery Gartung (SR–ZP), Member of State Duma (1997–present), Chairman of the Duma Committee on Safeguarding Competition (2021–present), 2000 gubernatorial candidate (endorsed Teksler)

### Candidates for Federation Council

Incumbent Senator Margarita Pavlova (Independent) was not renominated.
| Gubernatorial candidate, political party | Candidates for Federation Council | Status |
| Eldar Gilmutdinov Communist Party | * Konstantin Natsiyevsky, attorney, former Member of Legislative Assembly of Chelyabinsk Oblast (2010–2014), 2014 and 2019 gubernatorial candidate * Izolda Shilova, kindergarten principal * Igor Yegorov, Member of Legislative Assembly of Chelyabinsk Oblast (2011–present) | Registered |
| Vitaly Pashin Liberal Democratic Party | * Aleksey Besedin, Member of Legislative Assembly of Chelyabinsk Oblast (2015–present) * Yelena Kolyada, obstetrician-gynecologist * Yevgeny Reva, Member of Legislative Assembly of Chelyabinsk Oblast (2020–present) | Registered |
| Stepan Solovyov Green Alternative | * Anatoly Kuznetsov, perennial candidate * Vitaly Volchkov, service engineer * Maria Volchkova, homemaker | Registered |
| Aleksey Teksler United Russia | * Sergey Berdnikov, Mayor of Magnitogorsk (2016–present) * Natalya Kotova, Mayor of Chelyabinsk (2019–present) * Mikhail Molchan, Head of Oktyabrsky District (1996–2005, 2010–present) | Registered |

## Polls

| Fieldwork date | Polling firm | Teksler | Pashin | Gilmutdinov | Solovyov | None | Lead |
| 7–8 September 2024 | 2024 election | 81% | 9% | 5% | 2% | 2% | 72% |
| 6–19 August 2024 | COM | 67% | 6% | 3% | 1% | 2% | 61% |

## Results

Summary of the 7–8 September 2024 Chelyabinsk Oblast gubernatorial election results :
| Candidate | Candidate | Party | Votes | % |
| | Aleksey Teksler (incumbent) | United Russia | 1,023,767 | 81.28 |
| | Vitaly Pashin | Liberal Democratic Party | 118,683 | 9.42 |
| | Eldar Gilmutdinov | Communist Party | 66,328 | 5.27 |
| | Stepan Solovyov | Green Alternative | 27,343 | 2.17 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | Valid votes | 1,236,121 | 98.14 |
| Blank ballots | Blank ballots | Blank ballots | 23,469 | 1.86 |
| Total | Total | Total | 1,259,594 | 100.00 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,259,594 | 48.93 |
| Registered voters | Registered voters | Registered voters | 2,574,070 | 100.00 |
| Source: | Source: | Source: | Source: | |
Governor Teksler appointed Chelyabinsk mayor Natalya Kotova (United Russia) to the Federation Council, replacing incumbent Senator Margarita Pavlova (Independent).