Russians are encouraged to vote in the forthcoming presidential election, which is scheduled for March 15–17, according to a report released on Thursday by the official news agency TASS. “We must reaffirm our unity and resolve to go ahead as a team. Every vote matters. That’s the reason I’m urging you to use your right to vote over the next three days,” Putin said in a video speech before the poll.
Eight times, President Putin reportedly spoke to the public before national elections for federal office: in 2000, 2004, 2016, and 2018 (twice before and after the results of the presidential election), in 2021 and 2020, before a national referendum on constitutional modifications. Over 40,000 voters have cast votes in Russia’s early presidential election overseas, according to Maria Zakharova, a spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry.
Early voting has begun. 23 nations have previously held it, and 29 electoral commissioners are in charge of overseeing it. More than 40,000 Russians have cast ballots as of March 12,” the ambassador said. “Voting is taking place without any serious incidents,” she said. She also said that local Russian authorities were prepared to help their fellow countrymen at their first request.
The formal date of the presidential election was set for March 17 by the Russian Federation Council, often known as the Duma, the upper house of the Russian parliament. It was later declared by the Russian Central poll Commission (CEC) that the poll would be held over three days, from March 15 to 17. This will be the country’s first three-day presidential election.
According to CNN, President Putin is predicted to easily win the election and serve a fifth term as Russia’s top leader, capping his reign at thirty years in government. It’s safe to conclude that Putin’s political career has reached the president-for-life stage with the death of jailed Russian Opposition leader Alexei Navalny, CNN said in its report. The network also added that Putin’s re-anointment puts exposed an unpleasant truth for Russia’s future political stability.
It further said that there are no obvious plans being made by the President and his entourage for a post-Putin world. According to CNN, Putin has been in power longer than Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin. In 2020, Russian voters approved constitutional amendments that would extend Putin’s term in office until 2036. The article also said that the Kremlin made it apparent that it did not see any alternatives to Putin’s one-man rule regime in the near future, even prior to his announcement of his candidacy.