The Russian Electoral Commission announced this Friday that the next presidential elections will be spread over three days, from March 15 to 17, 2024, a recent measure that, according to Kremlin critics, increases the risk of electoral fraud.
President Vladimir Putin, Russia’s undisputed leader for nearly a quarter of a century, has officially entered the race, according to AFP.
Putin reportedly spoke with Lieutenant Colonel Artyom Zhoga, a Russian military officer, about his decision to run in the election, after an awards ceremony for the army in the Kremlin, state news agencies reported.
“We are very happy that the president listened to our request to run as a candidate. All of Russia supports him,” Zhoga said, quoted by the state news agency RIA Novosti.
Vladimir Putin, however, has not yet formally announced that he will participate in the vote scheduled for March next year.
“Our president has never avoided and does not avoid making responsible decisions,” said Valentina Matvienko, speaker of the upper house of the Russian parliament.
According to analysts, Putin will not face major adversaries and will probably seek to obtain the largest possible mandate to hide internal discord over the conflict in Ukraine.
None of the rivals appear to be in a position to prevent Putin’s rise, as almost all of his main opponents have been arrested or forced into exile.
The Electoral Commission “approved a three-day voting period for the Russian presidential election” in the first round, which is expected to take place from March 15 to 17, according to a statement.
Observers and opponents say that elections in Russia are marked by serious irregularities and that independent candidates have no chance.
The authorities presented the vote for several days as a way to reduce the risk of contagion during the Covid-19 pandemic, a procedure that has since been maintained in several national and regional elections.
Mainly the opposition considers that the methodology facilitates the manipulation of the ballots, since they are not counted immediately on the day of the vote and are stored for three days.
As a result of the adoption of a controversial constitutional reform at the height of the pandemic in 2020, Vladimir Putin, who came to power in 2000, could remain in the Kremlin until 2036.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov stated in mid-November that “the time for the announcement” of Vladimir Putin’s candidacy was approaching, believing that he would have no credible rival.
Source: TSF
