Russian presidential election: Putin urges Russians to take part in polls, says: ‘I appeal to you’

Russian Presidential Elections: President Vladimir Putin requested his compatriots to participate in the upcoming presidential elections. The elections for the country’s highest post will take place from March 15 to 17.

Moscow: Ahead of the presidential elections, which will take place from March 15 to 17, President Vladimir Putin addressed the nation and called on them to participate in the elections, TASS news agency reported on Thursday. In the meantime, early voting for the presidential elections abroad continued, with more than 40,000 people having already cast their ballots, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said. “We must reaffirm our consolidation, our determination to move forward together. Every vote counts. That is why I call on you to realize your right to vote in the next three days,” Putin said.
According to TASS, the Russian president addressed compatriots eight times ahead of the elections: 2000, 2004, 2016, 2018 (twice before the presidential elections), 2021 and in 2020 before the nationwide referendum on constitutional changes.

Early voting took place in 23 countries

“There is early voting. It has already taken place in 23 countries and 29 election commissions monitor it. More than 40,000 Russians have already voted on March 12,” the diplomat said. “The voting takes place without serious incidents,” Maria Zakharova said.
The Russian officials offer their citizens voting assistance

The Council of the Russian Federation, or the Upper House of the Russian Parliament or Duma, has officially scheduled the presidential elections for March 17.
Russia’s Central Election Commission (CEC) then announced that the vote will take place in three days – from March 15 to 17, making it the first three-day presidential election in Russia.

President Putin expected to secure his fifth term in office

President Putin is expected to receive a majority of votes. If Putin wins the majority of votes, it will be his fifth term in presidential office and a full third decade as Russia’s supreme leader, CNN reported.

The death of Alexei Navalny

With the death of imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, it is fair to say that Putin’s political career has reached the president-for-life stage, CNN noted in the report, adding that his re-anointing is an inconvenient fact exposes Russia’s future political stability.
The president and his circle have made no visible preparations for a post-Putin era, it added.

Putin’s longest-serving leader

Putin is the longest-serving leader since Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, CNN noted, adding that Russian voters in 2020 approved constitutional changes that would allow him to remain in power until 2036.

Even before Putin announced his candidacy, the Kremlin made it clear that it saw no alternatives in sight to his system of one-man rule, the report said.

(with input from authorities)