A particularly anticipated election, the outcome of which seems already known. The Russian electorate is called to the polls on Friday March 15 and Sunday March 17, for a presidential election which should, unsurprisingly, result in the re-election of Vladimir Putin for a fifth term, the third in a row. The authoritarian Russian leader, president or head of government for a quarter of a century, is a candidate to remain at the head of the country at least until 2030.
This vote is a “simulacrum” presidential election, describes France Culture, as the Kremlin stifles any alternative to the outgoing president. It takes place a month after the death in custody of the main opposition figure, Alexeï Navalny, in murky circumstances. However, the Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitri Peskov, assures that the organized vote is “the type of elections our people want.”
According to the Central Election Commission, cited by the Russian news agency Tass, 112.3 million people are expected to vote in Russia and in the Ukrainian territories occupied by Moscow. Added to this are nearly 1.9 million voters who live abroad. In Ukraine, voting began at the end of February in the occupied Zaporizhia region, reports Tass. While waiting for a result that leaves little doubt, franceinfo summarizes what you need to know about the presidential election in the largest state in the world, at war with Ukraine for more than two years.
Vladimir Putin will stay until 2030, and can aim for 2036
The Russian leader revealed that he was running for re-election on December 8, during a decoration ceremony at the Kremlin. An announcement made during a discussion presented as “spontaneous”tell The world . “On behalf of all the people, on behalf of Donbass, I would like to ask you to participate in these elections, because there is still a lot of work”a soldier from the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, one of the occupied territories in eastern Ukraine, told him. “I had different ideas at different times. But you are right, the time has come to make this decision. I will be a candidate for the office of President of the Russian Federation”replied Vladimir Putin.
This new election should allow him to remain in power until 2030. He will then be able to compete again to remain in power until 2036. Four years ago, a constitutional revision gave him the right to carry out up to four consecutive presidential terms, while the Russian Constitution theoretically allows only two.
His promises are not limited to the war in Ukraine
During his annual address to the nation at the end of February, Vladimir Putin outlined his program for the next six years. Beyond his justification of the war in Ukraine, he defended a Russia of “traditional values”in opposition to a West described as decadent. “A family with many children must become the norm”he insisted, in response to the country’s demographic crisis.
The president also promised investments to modernize Russia, in areas as varied as new technologies, culture and environmental protection. He also insisted on education and infrastructure in a long list of quantified promises, committing to renovate numerous airports, build dozens of campuses, hundreds of gymnasiums and even fifty roads, lists The world . This inventory was accompanied by announcements on social assistance, particularly for veterans and their loved ones.
The other three candidates are not competitors
Alongside the current occupant of the Kremlin, three candidates are competing in the presidential election: Nikolai Kharitonov, Leonid Sloutsky and Vladislav Davankov. Members of parties represented in the Russian Parliament, they did not need to pass the filter of the collection of sponsorships. But their presence gives a false impression of political pluralism, while these three men are far from being adversaries of Vladimir Putin. None of them oppose Russia’s continued invasion of Ukraine.
Nikolai Kharitonov is the representative of the Russian Communist Party in this election. “Our task is to consolidate the people during the electoral campaign so that there is victory on all fronts”, he declared at the end of December, when announcing his appointment. Another declared candidate, Leonid Sloutsky leads the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, a conservative and nationalist movement. He himself predicted a victory “huge” for Vladimir Putin, affirming that he would not take away “no voice”.
Finally, Vladislav Davankov is a deputy and former candidate for mayor of Moscow. “Would I want peace at all costs? No”, he said about Ukraine, according to the Russian news site Fontanka. He still considered that the“special military operation” should not have been a question left “to our children”.
The real opposition is excluded from the ballot
Over the course of the campaign, two real opposition candidates to Vladimir Putin were ruled out. At the beginning of February, the liberal and pacifist candidate Boris Nadezhdine saw his candidacy rejected by the Russian electoral commission. This invalidated 9,147 signatures supporting the candidate. “The number of verified and valid voter sponsorships amounts to 95,587 (…) while 100,000 were needed”ruled Andreï Choutov, member of the commission.
Little known to the general public until this campaign, the candidate, opposed to the Russian offensive in Ukraine, is a municipal representative from a small town on the outskirts of Moscow. “The government should not try to create more territories for Russia, it’s a bad idea”he said at the start of the year in an interview with franceinfo.
At the end of December, the Russian electoral commission also invalidated the candidacy of Ekaterina Dountsova, journalist and former municipal representative. The institution had justified it by “errors in documents” presented by the pro-democracy candidate, also opposed to the war in Ukraine.
Russia harshly represses any criticism of the Kremlin, even more so since the start of the Russian invasion. Opposition figures are in exile, while others have been convicted and imprisoned. From a distance, anti-Putin people are nevertheless trying to mobilize voters, in particular by calling for participation in the “Noon against Putin” operation, proposed by Alexeï Navalny shortly before his death: “I like the idea that those who vote against Putin go to the polls at the same time, at noon”he wrote on X.
Russians are encouraged to vote, and fraud is possible
As the vote approaches, posters have appeared in Russia to encourage voters to vote between Friday and Sunday. Raffles, events… The authorities are mobilizing to invite as many citizens as possible to go to the polls. According to The worldthe Kremlin wants a campaign “calm, without superfluous show” which ends, for Vladimir Putin, with a score at least equal to that of the last presidential election, in 2018. The president received more than 75% of the votes.
“Putin’s 2018 re-election campaign benefited from advantages including preferential media treatment, numerous abuses and procedural irregularities during vote counting,” recalls the freedom defense NGO Freedom House. At the time, voters claimed to have been forced to vote by their employers or teachers. Others reported receiving concert tickets or food coupons in exchange for their participation.
“The Russian electoral system is designed to maintain the dominance of United Russia”Vladimir Putin’s movement, points out Freedom House, which also mentions ballot stuffing during the 2021 legislative elections. This year, electronic voting and the spread of the vote over three days could lead to more fraud, points out in advance The world.