Elections in Russia, but not Ukraine?
While the mighty ‘defender of democracy’, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has banned all opposition parties before cancelling next year’s elections, the veritable ‘boogie man’ of democratic societies, Rssian President Vladimir Putin, has confirmed elections for next year.
Russian lawmakers set the date of the country’s 2024 presidential election for March 17, moving Putin a step closer to his fifth term in office.
War or no war, the members of upper house of parliament voted unanimously to approve a decree setting this date.
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Associated Press reported:
“’In essence, this decision marks the start of the election campaign’, said Valentina Matviyenko, speaker of the Federation Council. Russia’s central election commission is to hold a meeting on the presidential campaign on Friday.”
Putin hasn’t yet announced that he will run again, but is certain to do so in the coming days, now that the date is set.
“Under constitutional reforms he orchestrated, he is eligible to seek two more six-year terms after his current one expires next year, potentially allowing him to remain in power until 2036.”
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Putin’s victory in March is all but assured. But who will challenge him on the ballot?
Imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny sent out an online statement urging his supporters to vote ‘for anyone but Putin’.
“’Putin views this election as a referendum on approval of his actions. A referendum on approval of the war. Let’s disrupt his plans and make it happen so that no one on March 17 is interested in the rigged result, but that all of Russia saw and understood: the will of the majority is that Putin must leave’, the [Navalny] statement said.”
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“According to Russian election laws, candidates put forward by a party that is not represented in the State Duma or in at least a third of regional legislatures have to submit at least 100,000 signatures from 40 or more regions. Those running independently of any party would need a minimum of 300,000 signatures from 40 regions or more.
Running as an independent is more likely for Putin, said independent political analyst Dmitry Oreshkin. ‘It will be too much honor for a party, he values himself highly. Therefore, I think he will run as an independent candidate, and will probably collect signatures. This will be a good pretext to promote the campaign in the regions’.”
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