Office of the President - Putin has renewed candidacy set in motion
Around three months before the planned presidential election, preparations are underway in Russia for Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin 's renewed candidacy. A so-called voters' initiative, which includes selected politicians as well as athletes and artists loyal to the Kremlin, unanimously nominated Putin as a candidate for the vote on March 17, 2024, as reported by Russian state media. The next step is to collect signatures from citizens to officially finalize the nomination - but even this is considered a mere formality in Russia in light of accusations of manipulation and the opposition being virtually eliminated.
Around a week ago, Putin, who has been at war with neighboring Ukraine for almost 22 months, announced, as expected, that he would run again in the upcoming presidential election. It would be the fifth term in office for the 71-year-old Kremlin leader, who officially wants to run as an independent candidate, but is in fact supported in particular by the Kremlin party United Russia. In 2020, Putin had the Russian constitution amended specifically so that he could run again.
As the Kremlin is unlikely to allow any serious rivals and many critics have either fled abroad or are in prison, Putin's re-election is considered a foregone conclusion. Experts complain that fair elections have long since ceased to exist in Russia.
Moreover, after more than a year and a half of war, Putin's rhetoric about the West as Russia's supposed enemy against whom he is protecting them is catching on with many Russians. Nevertheless, the team of the imprisoned and prominent Kremlin opponent Alexei Navalny, for example, has launched a campaign calling on Russians to vote for any candidate next March - just not for Putin.
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Source: www.stern.de
