(Moscow) The territories occupied by Russia in eastern and southern Ukraine will take part in the Russian presidential elections in March 2024, the Electoral Commission announced on Monday, a vote which should see the re-election of Vladimir Putin.
The members of the Commission “unanimously” adopted the resolution approving this modality, one of its officials, Nikolai Bulayev, told the state news agency Tass.
Russia has already organized several elections in these territories (Zaporijjia, Kherson, Donetsk and Luhansk) whose annexation it proclaimed in September 2022, despite the fighting, the condemnations of the international community and the fact that Moscow only partially controls these regions.
As early as last week, the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs considered that the organization of polls in these regions was “null and void” and “violates international law”.
Vladimir Putin announced on Friday that he was a candidate for a fifth term in the presidential election on March 17 in Russia.
The Russian head of state, whom a 2020 constitutional revision authorizes to be a candidate again in 2030, can theoretically remain in the Kremlin until 2036, the year he turns 84.
His re-election is hardly in doubt, especially since the opposition has been dismantled by repression.
Almost all major opponents, such as anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny, have been thrown in prison or driven into exile.