Although the 71-year-old Russian President Vladimir Putin has not yet publicly expressed his desire to run in these elections, it is expected that he could do so in the coming days.
Under constitutional reforms introduced under his leadership, Putin can run for two more six-year terms as president.
This means that the current head of state could remain in office until 2036.
After Putin has established a firm grip on Russia’s political system, his victory in March’s elections is almost certain. Prominent critics who might challenge him in the election are in prison or living abroad, and most independent media outlets are banned.
So far, two people have announced their plans to run for this high office – former lawmaker Boris Nadezhdin, who holds a seat in the municipal council of the Moscow region, as well as journalist and lawyer from the Tver region – Yekaterina Duntsova.
So far, the brightest of the two has been Duntsova, who has positioned herself as a politician who wants to return democracy to Russia. True, her statements about the war started by Russia have been contradictory – although, on the one hand, she has condemned this aggression and even called the prosecutor’s office to explain her position, on the other hand – the politician has also said that she “understands those who voluntarily went war on Ukraine”.
So far, she has not been particularly known outside her region – she has worked in the media and also in the Rzhevsk City Council.
It could be difficult for both candidates to get on the electoral list – unless one of the five political parties that have seats in the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament, nominates them as their candidates, they will have to collect tens of thousands of signatures in several regions.
Under Russian election laws, candidates nominated by a party not represented in the State Duma or in at least a third of regional legislatures must submit at least 100,000 signatures from 40 or more regions.
Candidates running regardless of party would need to submit at least 300,000 signatures from 40 or more regions.
Voting could take place over three days next year – not only at polling stations, but also online, the Central Election Commission previously confirmed.
This plan, in addition to the observation restrictions adopted in recent years, will significantly limit the opportunities of independent election observers to follow the process, said Stanislavs Andreičuks, co-chairman of the independent election observation group “Golos”.
“Regular monitoring (at polling stations) is currently causing the biggest problems,” he explained to the AP news agency. “But we’ll work anyway.”
Dmitry Oreshkin, an independent analyst of political processes, said that the vote for the president will be more of a “ritual” than a real election process.
“This election ritual is very important to Putin and his team. It is important because it measures the loyalty of the regional elite and confirms that the system is working,” he said.
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2023-12-07 09:19:30
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