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Ruler Putin in Moscow: Wants another six years in office

Photo: Sergei Savostyanov / dpa

The controversial presidential election for Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin to retain power has begun in Russia with the exclusion of the opposition. The election, which is intended to ensure that the 71-year-old Putin remains in office for another six years, is overshadowed by Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine and massive allegations of manipulation. The Moscow prosecutor's office threatened people who take part in "uncoordinated public mass events" with up to five years in prison.

In the largest country in the world in terms of area, the polling stations opened on Friday (local time) first in the far east, for example on the Kamchatka Peninsula. Voting in the vast empire with its eleven time zones lasts until Sunday evening, when the last polling stations in Kaliningrad on the Baltic Sea close at 7 p.m. Central European Time. The first forecasts are expected immediately afterwards.

“Election farce”

Russian state pollsters have already predicted more than 80 percent of the vote for Putin, who has been in power for nearly a quarter century and is seeking a fifth term. That would be the highest result for him ever. Putin's three competitors are not only seen as having no chance. They are also all in line with the Kremlin and sometimes directly support the incumbent. Applicants who spoke out against Putin's war of aggression were not even accepted as candidates.

The opposition speaks of an “election farce” that has nothing in common with a vote according to democratic rules. Election observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) are not invited this time.

The Kremlin also organized illegal sham votes in occupied areas of Ukraine over the three days. Ukraine protested against the votes held in violation of international law and called on the international community not to recognize the results. According to Russian figures, 4.5 million people are called to vote in the occupied parts of the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Kherson. Voting will also take place on the Ukrainian Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, which Moscow annexed in 2014.

Threats against protest action

Meanwhile, the Moscow prosecutor's office issued a warning to people planning to vote in the city on March 17 at 12 p.m. The now deceased, long-standing Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny supported the protest in one of his last messages from prison - most recently his widow Julija Navalnaya called for it again. “We have to use election day to show that we are here and that there are many of us,” she said in a video. She spoke out in favor of the protest against Kremlin leader Putin, which aims to overload the polling stations.

Organizers speak of a “lunch against Putin.” Supporters hoped they had found a legal and safe way to protest against the Kremlin. Anti-government demonstrations are effectively illegal in Russia, and organizers and participants can be imprisoned for several years.

The Moscow public prosecutor's office now announced on the Telegram platform that participation in the "said public mass events" was punishable. In their opinion, "the illegal actions can hinder the free exercise of the right to vote by citizens and the work of the electoral commissions," for which Article 141 of the Criminal Code provides for a maximum sentence of up to five years in prison. The Moscow Times also reported previously.

According to the electoral commission, around 114 million people are called to vote. In 2020, Putin had the constitution changed specifically in order to be able to run as a candidate again.

aeh/dpa