Correspondent Iris de Graaf sees these elections as a harbinger for the presidential elections of 2024.
“These are the last Duma elections in the run-up to the 2024 presidential election. Under the new constitution, Putin has the right to run for two more elections: in 2024 and in 2030. He appears to be planning to do so.
The constitution was amended by the State Duma last year. Putin wants to keep United Russia’s constitutional majority in parliament that way in case further constitutional amendments are needed. The president likes to keep all options open and leaves nothing to chance.
The fact that these elections are mainly taking place online also seems to be a handy move by the Kremlin. This way Russians can get used to it before the elections of 2024. Because online voting can be manipulated more easily, that too can be a way to keep extra control over the outcome of the presidential elections and leave nothing to chance.”
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