Vladimir Putin said he will run for a new presidential term

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on Friday, December 8, that he will run for another, fifth presidential term.

On the eve of December 7, the Federation Council announced that the next presidential elections are scheduled for March 17, 2024, and on December 8, the Russian Central Election Commission announced that the presidential elections in the Russian Federation in 2024 will be held over three days – from March 15 to 17. The decision to hold voting in the regions of Ukraine annexed by Russia will be made before December 12, after consultations with the security forces, writes D.W.

The head of the CEC, Ella Pamfilova, recalled that for the first time the three-day voting system was used during a pandemic, in order to ensure security:

“Voting over three days is already becoming traditional for our electoral system.”

Ella Pamfilova also stated that presidential elections “for the first time in the history of new Russia will be held in such a toxic geopolitical atmosphere.” At the same time, she assured that the Russian electoral system “has a margin of safety for the proper conduct of presidential elections,” writes euronews.

Based on amendments made to the Constitution of the Russian Federation, Putin has the right to run for a sixth term. In this case, his term of office will expire in 2036, and he will overtake Stalin’s reign in duration, DW notes.

Putin announced his plans after the ceremony in the Kremlin for the Day of Heroes of the Fatherland: “At different times I had different thoughts on this issue. But I understand: today it is impossible to do otherwise. So I will run for the post of President of Russia.”

In addition to Putin, the leader of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation Gennady Zyuganov, former State Duma deputy Boris Nadezhdin, Igor Strelkov (Girkin), who is in a pre-trial detention center, and journalist from Rzhev Ekaterina Duntsova are planning to participate in the elections. The New People party also plans to nominate its candidate. The day before, one of the leaders of the Russian opposition Alexey Navalny called supporters to come to the polling stations in March and vote for any of the candidates except Putin.

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