Putin's victory guarantees him a fifth presidential term for 6 years until 2030 (Reuters)

Preliminary official results showed a landslide victory for President Vladimir Putin in the Russian presidential elections that concluded on Sunday, while his opponents organized a symbolic movement at the polling stations.

The results announced by the Central Election Commission in Russia during a press conference in Moscow showed that Putin (71 years old) won about 88% of the voters’ votes, which guarantees him a fifth presidential term for 6 years until 2030.

The percentage won by the Russian President is the highest in Russia since the collapse of the Soviet Union, and thus he is the longest-serving leader in the country in 200 years.

According to the Election Commission, the participation rate reached 67.5% hours before the polls closed on the third and final day of the presidential elections, while the electronic voting rate approached 90% of those who expressed their desire to vote remotely.

114 million voters were invited to participate in these elections, which also took place in 4 regions of Ukraine that are partly under the control of Russian forces.

The current president faced the head of the Liberal Democratic Party, Leonid Slutsky, the Communist Party candidate, Nikolai Kharitonov, and the New People's Party candidate, Vladislav Davankov.

The Kremlin previously said that Putin has the support of more than 80% of Russians, but opponents accuse him of suppressing the opposition.

Activists spoke of pressure exerted by the authorities to push voters to vote, while Russian officials and official media indicated a heavy turnout at the ballot boxes inside and outside Russia.

Alexei Navalny's widow, Yulia, participates in a protest movement during voting in the presidential elections at the Russian embassy in Berlin (French)

Opponents protest

Meanwhile, thousands of opposition supporters gathered at noon in front of polling stations in several cities as part of a peaceful political movement called “Noon Against Putin.” The prominent Russian opposition figure, Alexei Navalny, who died last month in an Arctic prison, had announced his support for this movement, according to those close to him. .

Navalny's supporters called on voters who oppose Putin and the war on Ukraine to come en masse to the polling stations at noon and cast their votes for one of the three candidates or write anti-Putin slogans on the voting cards.

Russian media published pictures of cards reading “murderer,” “thief,” or “we are waiting for you in The Hague,” in reference to demands for the Russian president to be tried before the International Criminal Court.

The non-governmental organization OVD Info reported the arrest of 74 people in 17 cities in Russia, including the capital, Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Kazan.

Russian opponents also gathered in front of many Russian diplomatic missions abroad to express their protest against the policies of President Vladimir Putin, and the widow of the late oppositionist Alexei Navalny participated in the action organized by the opposition in front of the Russian embassy in Berlin.

The presidential elections witnessed the sabotage of many voting offices, and Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Russian National Security Council, called for tougher penalties on those involved in these acts.

Source: Al Jazeera + agencies