Russia's opposition divided over vote in constitutional referendum

Text by: RFI Follow

The vote on the reform of the Constitution in Russia is scheduled for July 1, 2020, but because of the coronavirus, the authorities of the country allow voters to vote as of this Thursday. The stakes are high: the reform must allow Vladimir Putin to run for two new terms, and therefore remain in power until 2036. A "constitutional coup" in the eyes of a totally divided opposition on strategy to adopt. 

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With our correspondent in Moscow,Daniel Vallot

For lack of access to television, and deprived of meetings due to coronavirus, it is on the internet that the tenors of the opposition are forced to debate. And for the most famous of them, the lawyer and blogger Alexei Navalny, there is no question of participating in an election qualified as a masquerade. 

“  I am for participation in the elections, in 99% of the cases. But this vote is completely illegitimate, so it is impossible to participate in it, believes Alexei Navalny. Then there are the risks associated with coronavirus. In my view, it would be immoral to call on its supporters to vote under these conditions.  "

For the proponents of the boycott, participating in this vote would be one way of making it legitimate. And the only means of pressure in their eyes is to lower the participation rate as much as possible.

Boycott or vote against

Former member of the Iabloko party, Maxime Katz believes on the contrary that we must go to vote and oppose in the ballot boxes the projects of the Russian president. “  Since the 2018 election, Putin's popularity has dropped sharply. And on the street, all the people tell us that they want to oppose the reform. There is such dissatisfaction in society that people want to vote against it,  "he said. 

Whatever the strategy adopted by the opposition, the reform of the Constitution desired by Vladimir Putin is likely to be adopted on July 1. The Russian president will then have the right to run for two new terms. And in an interview granted a few days ago on television, Vladimir Putin for the first time mentioned the possibility of appearing again in 2024.

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