Russia President Putin Officially Registers Intention To Seek Re-election For 6 Years
Russia’s election commission officially enrolled President Vladimir Putin on Monday as a contender for the upcoming March 2024 presidential election.
Putin, aged 71, is entering the race as an independent candidate while maintaining firm control over Russia’s political framework, which he has shaped over his 24-year tenure.
According to Fox News, the absence of significant challengers, owing to the imprisonment of critics and limited independent media, virtually guarantees Putin’s reelection in the March 15–17 presidential polls.
In 2018, Putin chose to run as an independent candidate, diverging from the United Russia party that endorsed him in 2012.
With his approval ratings around 80 percent, Putin enjoys far more popularity than the United Russia party, perceived more as an arm of the Kremlin’s bureaucracy than a genuine political entity.
The Central Election Commission formally accepted Putin’s candidacy after verifying 315,000 signatures collected by his campaign from all 89 regions of Russia, meeting the requirement stipulated by Russian election law for independent candidates.
Moreover, the commission has endorsed three other candidates nominated by parliamentary parties who did not need to collect signatures: Nikolai Kharitonov of the Communist Party, Leonid Slutsky of the nationalist Liberal Democratic Party, and Vladislav Davankov of the New People Party. These parties have generally aligned with Kremlin policies.
Kharitonov previously contested against Putin in 2004, securing a distant second place. Boris Nadezhdin, a 60-year-old liberal politician serving as a local legislator near Moscow, is also vying for candidacy. He advocates for ending the conflict in Ukraine and initiating dialogue with the West.
READ ALSO: Prisoners-Laden Russian Military Plane Crashes in Belgorod Region
Despite the rigid political environment, thousands of Russians have rallied across the nation to endorse Nadezhdin’s candidacy, posing an unusual challenge to the Kremlin’s control.
The Central Election Commission is expected to review Nadezhdin’s documents later in the week to determine his eligibility for the race. Putin, having engineered constitutional reforms, is now eligible to pursue two additional six-year terms, potentially extending his tenure until 2036.
(SaharaReporters)
