Russia Heads For Presidential Polls Today; Vladimir Putin Set For Another Term
Russia heads to poll today. The Presidential election in Russia seems to hold a predictable result as the incumbent President Vladimir Putin is predicted to win a fifth term. The result of the election is expected to be out soon after and the winner will be announced in May. If he were to be re-elected, Putin will be serving another six years, making him the longest-serving Kremlin leader since Joseph Stalin. The election will span from March 15 to March 17.
The Central Election Commission (CEC) of Russia has allowed only three candidates to challenge Putin. Reportedly, no legitimate candidates have been approved by ECE. Putin is officially pitted by three candidates who are endorsed by Kremlin. They represent political parties that are aligned with Putin’s policies and are loyal to him.
The contenders against Putin are, Nikolay Kharitonov of Communist Party, Vladislav Davankov of the New People Party, and Leonid Slutsky of the Liberal Democratic Party. All three candidates approved Russia’s invasion on Ukraine. Anti-war candidates, Boris Nadezhdin and Yekaterina Duntsova was disqualified from running the election.
As per media report, voting is set to occur in parts of Ukraine which are currently under the clasp of Russia and are subject to Russian law. It is to note that Russia has introduced online voting system for the first time in Russian Presidential election.
Notably, Russian residing in Kerala can also cast their votes. A booth was specifically arranged at the Honorary Consulate of the Russian Federation, Russian House at the state capital, Thiruvananthapuram. It is the third time, the state capital has arranged voting booth for the Russian in Kerala.
Speaking to ANI, Ratheesh Nair, the Honorary Consul of Russia and the Director of Russian House in Thiruvananthapuram said, “this is the third time the Consulate of Russian Federation is hosting polling for the Russian presidential elections. This is actually for Russian nationalists staying here and also for the tourists. We are happy to associate with the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation. I am very grateful to the Russian citizens in Kerala for their cooperation and enthusiasm to cast votes in the process of electing their new president”.
The 71-year-old Vladimir Putin assumed the role of President after he was appointed by Boris Yeltsin on the final day of 1999. He was elected as the President in 2000 with 53 percentage. In 2004, Putin won a landslide victory with 71.3 percentage. In 2008, he served as a Prime Minister, while Dmitry Medvedev was the President. Putin then reclaimed his position as the President in 2012, during which he won 63.6 percentage. In 2018, Vladimir Putin win with an overwhelming majority of 76.7 percentage.
