Incumbent Vladimir Putin won a record post-Soviet landslide in Russia’s presidential election on Sunday, cementing his grip on power although Western states, including Poland and the U.S., said the elections were neither free nor fair.
The first poll after the end of voting in Russia, conducted by the Russian Center for Public Opinion Research, shows that Putin won 87.97% of the vote.
50% of the votes have been counted so far, reported the British newspaper “The Guardian.”
Putin faced three candidates- none of whom criticized his rule or the invasion of Ukraine, the Guardian added.
Communist candidate Nikolai Kharitonov came second with just under 4%, newcomer Vladislav Davankov third, and ultra-nationalist Leonid Slutsky fourth, results suggested.
Nationwide turnout was 74.22% at 1800 GMT when polls closed, election officials said, surpassing 2018 levels of 67.5%.
The result means Putin, 71, will easily secure a new six-year term that would enable him to overtake the Soviet ruler Joseph Stalin and become Russia’s longest-serving leader for more than 200 years.
Commenting on the exit poll results, Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy said in his evening video speech that “the Russian dictator is imitating another election” and that Putin “has enough power to rule forever.”
“This imitation of ‘elections’ has no legitimacy and cannot have any. This person must end up on the dock in The Hague. This is what we must ensure,” he added.
The Polish Foreign Ministry also condemned the presidential election, stating that it was neither legal nor fair.
‘Noon against Putin’
Supporters of Putin’s most prominent opponent, Alexei Navalny, who died in an Arctic prison last month, had called on Russians to come out at a “Noon against Putin” protest to show their dissent against a leader they describe as a corrupt autocrat.
There was no independent tally of how many of Russia’s 114 million voters took part in the opposition demonstrations, amid tight security involving tens of thousands of police and security officials.
“We showed ourselves, all of Russia and the whole world that Putin is not Russia [and] that Putin has seized power in Russia,” said Ruslan Shaveddinov of Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation. “Our victory is that we, the people, defeated fear, we defeated solitude - many people saw they were not alone,” he added.
At least 74 people were arrested on Sunday across Russia, according to OVD-Info, a group that monitors crackdowns on dissent.
For Putin, a former KGB lieutenant colonel who first rose to power in 1999, the result is intended to underscore to the West that its leaders will have to reckon with an emboldened Russia, whether in war or in peace, for many more years to come.
50% of the votes have been counted so far, reported the British newspaper “The Guardian.”
Putin faced three candidates- none of whom criticized his rule or the invasion of Ukraine, the Guardian added.
Communist candidate Nikolai Kharitonov came second with just under 4%, newcomer Vladislav Davankov third, and ultra-nationalist Leonid Slutsky fourth, results suggested.
Nationwide turnout was 74.22% at 1800 GMT when polls closed, election officials said, surpassing 2018 levels of 67.5%.
The result means Putin, 71, will easily secure a new six-year term that would enable him to overtake the Soviet ruler Joseph Stalin and become Russia’s longest-serving leader for more than 200 years.
Commenting on the exit poll results, Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy said in his evening video speech that “the Russian dictator is imitating another election” and that Putin “has enough power to rule forever.”
“This imitation of ‘elections’ has no legitimacy and cannot have any. This person must end up on the dock in The Hague. This is what we must ensure,” he added.
The United States also cast doubt on the exit poll result. “The elections are obviously not free nor fair given how Mr Putin has imprisoned political opponents and prevented others from running against him,” the White House’s National Security Council spokesperson said.These days, the Russian dictator imitates another "elections." Everyone in the world understands that this person, like many others throughout history, has become sick with power and will stop at nothing to rule forever.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) March 17, 2024
There is no evil he would not do to maintain his personal… pic.twitter.com/zu1see37kl
The Polish Foreign Ministry also condemned the presidential election, stating that it was neither legal nor fair.
‘Noon against Putin’
Supporters of Putin’s most prominent opponent, Alexei Navalny, who died in an Arctic prison last month, had called on Russians to come out at a “Noon against Putin” protest to show their dissent against a leader they describe as a corrupt autocrat.
There was no independent tally of how many of Russia’s 114 million voters took part in the opposition demonstrations, amid tight security involving tens of thousands of police and security officials.
“We showed ourselves, all of Russia and the whole world that Putin is not Russia [and] that Putin has seized power in Russia,” said Ruslan Shaveddinov of Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation. “Our victory is that we, the people, defeated fear, we defeated solitude - many people saw they were not alone,” he added.
At least 74 people were arrested on Sunday across Russia, according to OVD-Info, a group that monitors crackdowns on dissent.
For Putin, a former KGB lieutenant colonel who first rose to power in 1999, the result is intended to underscore to the West that its leaders will have to reckon with an emboldened Russia, whether in war or in peace, for many more years to come.
Source: Reuters, PAP, The Guardian
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