In Russia, Vladimir Putin's referendum on a constitutional amendment to open the way for long-term power for more than 30 years was held on the 1st (local time).

Voting was held from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm at more than 96,000 polling stations across Russia, divided into 11 time zones on this day, which was set as a public holiday.

Kathingka Province, which started nine hours earlier than the capital of Moscow, was the first to start and ended with the closing of the polling place in Kaliningra, a western offshore territory an hour later than Moscow.

The counting began immediately in the Far East and Siberia regions where the voting ended.

According to the Russian Central Election Commission, 76.9% of the voters supported the constitution and 22% objected to it at 11:00 pm (Moscow time).

The turnout was found to be 65%.

The referendum was originally scheduled for April 22, but was postponed once again due to the spread of the new coronavirus infection (Corona 19).

Election authorities also allowed six days of pre-voting from the 25th to the 30th of the month prior to the voting day because of the possibility of spreading Corona19 through polling stations.

At the same time, two regions, the capital Moscow and central Nizhgorod, also allowed electronic voting over the Internet during the same period.

Voters indicated their willingness to amend the constitution by marking'yes' or'opposite' on the ballot.

The Central Election Commission minimized the risk of corona19 infection by assigning only 8 to 12 people per hour to the polling place.

In addition, voters were subjected to a fever test before entering the polling station, closing the polling station for 10 minutes every hour, disinfecting the inside, and disinfecting the interior.

The Kremlin Palace (President's Office) and the Central Election Commission focused on increasing voter turnout and support.

President Vladimir Putin came and voted directly at the polling place in the Academy of Sciences building in downtown Moscow.

He is a dangerous situation, with more than 600 corona19 confirmers a day in Russia and around 6,000 people a day, but in Moscow alone, but he did not wear masks or disposable gloves.

Putin said in a speech to the people before he attended the opening ceremony of the monument to the war warriors in Refuef, Tver, near Moscow, which was the battle against the Nazi Germans during World War II. I am voting for the country I want to pass on,” he said.

It appealed to the public for support of the amendment in the battle of World War II, which evoked the patriotism of the Russians.

Election officials have also set up polling stations in Russia's four cities, including the capital Kiev, in Russia, where the country is facing a serious conflict just before the end of diplomatic ties with Russia, allowing local residents to vote.

Even two Russian astronauts on duty at the International Space Station were allowed to participate in the ballot by online electronic voting and proxy voting by agents.

Election authorities also encouraged voters to participate in voting by using prizes to win various goods, cars, and apartments.

According to the National Election Commission, by the day before the six-day pre-voting, the voter turnout had already exceeded 55%, and the online voter turnout, which had been requested by approximately 1.11 million people in the two regions, exceeded 93%.

The Kremlin said earlier that it expects high voter turnout and more than 70% support.

There is no minimum voter turnout for this referendum, and if more than half of the voters who voted agree, the amendment is passed.

In fact, referendum is not a necessary legal procedure for constitutional reform.

The constitutional amendment was already approved in March by the congressional assembly (the House of Representatives) and the Constitutional Court.

However, President Putin has repeatedly emphasized that the amendment will come into force only if it gets support from the referendum.

It seems to have an intention to secure certain legitimacy for amendment through a referendum.

President Putin earlier proposed a constitutional amendment at the annual speech in mid-January.

As expected, in the referendum, if the proposed amendment passes, President Putin, who is already in his fourth term, will re-run the presidential election for the fifth term in 2024, which will turn 72 years old. You can serve more.

This is because the special provisions to ``blank'' Putin's existing terms are included in the amendment that includes the provision of the ``prohibition of the same person's two or more presidency''.

(Yonhap News, photo = Getty Image Korea)