The Federation Council (Upper House of the Russian Parliament) has just called this Thursday presidential elections for next March 17. It was known that the elections would be held this month, as has been happening in recent decades, but the specific day had yet to be set. The president of the Federation Council, Valentina Matvienko, noted when commenting on the resolution adopted by the senators that this decision “essentially marks the beginning of the election campaign.”
The Central Election Commission meets on Friday to extend voting to three days, to March 15, 16 and 17. The president of the Electoral Commission, Ella Pamfilova, has stressed that the March elections “will take place for the first time in the modern history of Russia in a geopolitical atmosphere as toxic as the current one.”
What remains to be known now are the candidates. President Vladimir Putin has not yet announced his intention to run in the elections, although it is assumed that he will do so. On November 9, Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov announced that Putin will appear on December 14 at his marathon annual press conference, an event that was not organized last year and that usually takes place in the month of December.
This time, Peskov pointed out, the press conference will be held for the first time jointly with the “hotline”, also of long duration, so that the top Russian leader can respond “in a combined manner” to the questions of journalists and citizens. . These two media events to praise the figure of the president leave no doubt about his intention to continue in power.
Putin’s last term should have ended in 2024, but in 2020 he promoted constitutional amendments that will allow him to remain at the head of the country for two more terms of six years each, that is, until March 2036. By then Putin will be 83 years old. . So it is to be expected that in the coming days the head of the Kremlin will make public his intention to run for re-election on March 17. Peskov is convinced that “there is no alternative to Putin” and that he will win the elections without a doubt.
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