Russia Holds Presidential Election
Russia began voting on Friday in presidential election as Ukraine launched a barrage of deadly attacks on border regions.
EghtesadOnline: Officials in Moscow warned against any protests during the March 15-17 presidential vote, after calls from the opposition for anti-Putin demonstrations on Sunday.
Millions of Russian citizens head to the polls on March 15-17 as early voting for the 2024 Presidential Election, the eighth in the nation's modern history, commenced on February 25.
Russian citizens who are unable to physically visit regular polling stations due to living or working in extreme or hard-to-reach locations could cast their ballots until March 14.
The Russian citizens living abroad began heading to the polls on March 1.
On March 15 and 16, mobile polling stations are strategically placed near the special operation zone, covering the areas of the Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporozhye, Kherson, Belgorod, Bryansk, and Kursk regions, as well as Crimea. This initiative is designed to ensure that citizens residing in these areas have easy access to the voting process, Sputnik reported.
Voter turnout at the previous presidential elections in 2018 was at 67.5%. This year, turnout is expected to be at 71%, the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) predicts.
The president of the Russian Federation is elected for a term of six years.
There are four candidates vying for the top office. They include self-nominated candidate and incumbent President of Russia Vladimir Putin; Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) nominee Nikolai Kharitonov; Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) nominee Leonid Slutsky; and New People party nominee Vladislav Davankov.
Delegations of international observers from 36 countries have arrived in Russia, including from 30 national parliaments, as well as from 5 international organizations. Among them are the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly of Member Nations, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (PA CSTO), the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and the Central American Parliament (PARLACEN). / Tasnim