Yeltsin Hints at Gorbachev Competition : Shies Away From Declaring Himself a Candidate for Presidency

MOSCOW — Communist firebrand Boris N. Yeltsin said Saturday that more than one person could be considered for the Soviet presidency, but he shied away from declaring himself a candidate to face the most likely contender, his one-time supporter, Mikhail S. Gorbachev.

The Congress of People’s Deputies, the parliament to which Yeltsin was elected by a landslide, meets May 25 to choose a president from among its 2,250 members.

If past Communist Party practice holds, Gorbachev, the current president and Communist Party general secretary, will be the only candidate.

But in an interview, the 58-year-old Yeltsin did not discount the possibility of alternative candidates.

“There could be other suggestions from deputies,” he said. But indicating that opponents might not make it past the stage of preliminary discussion, he added, “That doesn’t mean there will be a vote among several alternative candidates.”

Yeltsin would not say who he would like to see run against Gorbachev.

“We’ll wait for the session,” he said. He has said repeatedly he does not consider himself a candidate.

In late April, there were indications that some Moscow deputies planned to propose an alternative candidate. But after meeting with Gorbachev on Wednesday, one of those deputies, Mikhail Bocharov, said nominating anyone but the Kremlin chief would be “silly.”

Gorbachev has been party general secretary since March, 1985 and president since Oct. 1. He supports multiple-candidate elections such as the March 26 parliamentary vote but has not said whether the presidential race should be contested.

There is token official opposition to Gorbachev, who was rejected by 12 of the 641 policy-making Central Committee members and alternates in his bid to join the new congress. He was among a slate of Communist Party officials who were simply chosen rather than elected to the parliament.

Gorbachev brought Yeltsin into the Soviet leadership in 1985, but the two quarreled after Yeltsin criticized the slow pace of political reforms. Yeltsin was ousted as Moscow party chief and dropped as a non-voting Politburo member.

Under constitutional amendments approved in November, the vote for president will be conducted in secret. The Congress will also elect 542 of its members to the Supreme Soviet.

Yeltsin reiterated that the people should have a say in setting rules for the presidential election.

“Let the people determine who the chairman will be, and not 2,250 deputies,” Yeltsin said.

As for his own future, Yeltsin said he should be chosen to the Supreme Soviet because of his popularity. He won his parliamentary race with 90% of the vote.