Putin Wins Russian Presidential Election with 76 Percent of Votes
Vladimir Putin, securing more than 76 percent of the votes, reached the position of President of Russia for the fourth time. Various reports of electoral violations have been published during the voting process.
According to the report of Russia’s Central Electoral Commission on March 19, following the counting of 99 percent of votes, Vladimir Putin, with 76.6 percent of the votes, will lead the Kremlin for another six years.
Preliminary vote counts and post-election polls also indicated Putin’s victory with at least 73 percent of the votes.
Among the seven other candidates who competed against the current Russian president, Pavel Grudinin from the Communist Party received nearly 12 percent of the votes, and Vladimir Zhirinovsky, a nationalist politician, obtained 6 percent. Ksenia Sobchak, a journalist and television presenter, received 1.6 percent, and the remaining candidates from centrist, liberal, and communist movements each received less than 1 percent of the votes.
Mr. Putin briefly appeared among his supporters outside the Kremlin Palace and thanked the voters. The President of Russia said his re-election demonstrates “hope and confidence” of the Russian people.
He later told journalists that he currently has no intention to attempt to change Russia’s constitution and also indicated that he does not intend to run in the 2030 elections.
Putin’s fourth presidential term will end in 2024, and without changing the current constitution, he cannot run again in elections, but he could do so in 2030, after another term. The 65-year-old Putin will be 71 years old at the end of his current term.
A Gallup poll in late 2017 showed that 80 percent of Russian citizens were satisfied with Putin’s leadership; however, only 40 percent of citizens said they considered the election process in Russia to be trustworthy.
It is said that the only recognized political figure who was somewhat able to unite Putin’s opponents and have a closer competition with the current president is Alexei Navalny, who was not allowed to participate in the elections. Navalny intended to run as a candidate in the presidential election, but due to charges that he claims are “fabricated,” he was not permitted to participate in the election. He had asked citizens to boycott Sunday’s election and not participate in it.
Russia’s Central Electoral Committee, with the presence of Navalny’s representatives and observers from the non-governmental organization “Golos,” opposed their presence at the polling stations.
Nevertheless, non-governmental organizations and several observers reported violations in various polling centers. The non-governmental organization “Golos” said it received more than 2,800 reports of electoral violations. Among the reported violations were the transfer of ballot boxes to locations not monitored by cameras and the prevention of observers from functioning in districts.
There were also reports of fraudulent votes being placed in ballot boxes, particularly in Moscow and St. Petersburg, areas where Putin enjoys less popularity. Several voters said their employers or teachers forced them to participate in the election.
Officials of Russia’s electoral commission said they are investigating some reports of violations.
Russia’s electoral committee said more than 67 percent of people participated in the election. Turnout in some regions of Russia was reported to be higher than in 2012.
Source: Radio Farda
