Politics

Putin will remain in the Kremlin until 2030 after winning 87.5% of the votes

Moscow, Mar 17 (EFE) – Russian President Vladimir Putin, 71, will remain in the Kremlin until 2030 after winning 87.5% of the vote, according to the verification of 32% of the ballots, the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) announced at the end of three days of voting.

Putin’s victory was already certain before the elections. However, he achieved his biggest electoral landslide since coming to power in 2000 despite criticism over the war in Ukraine and Western economic sanctions.

He will remain in power for another six years, after which he can run for re-election again since he reformed the constitution in 2020, changing the clauses that prevented him from remaining in the Kremlin.

The second most popular candidate was the Communist Nikolai Yaritonov, who got 4% of the votes, followed by the representative of the New People’s Party, Vladislav Davankov, with 3.86%. Ultranationalist Leonid Slutsky came in last with 3%.

The CEC did not register candidates who supported peace talks in Ukraine, claiming for various technical reasons or formal defects, rendering the opposition unable to participate.

Western observers were not invited, and the CEC denied on Sunday that there were any irregularities, although independent experts and the exile press denounced several cases of electoral manipulation.

With three hours to go before polls closed, voter turnout was more than 74 percent, expected to be the highest since Russia’s first direct presidential election in 1991.

The opposition expressed suspicions about the massive use of administrative resources after more than half of the 112 million registered voters cast their ballots in the first two days.

Thousands of Russians critical of the Kremlin turned out en masse to vote at noon Sunday in Russia and abroad coordinated by the opposition against Putin’s policies and the war in Ukraine.

The initiative, called “Noon Against Putin,” encouraged people to go to the polls at noon and simultaneously vote for any candidate other than Putin and aimed to challenge his claim to power.

The election has been marked by drone attacks and Ukrainian border incursions, which left several dead and led Putin to accuse Kyiv of trying to torpedo his re-election.EFE

mos/mcd

Related Articles

Back to top button