O President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, won the presidential elections this Sunday with 87.8% of the votes.

The first projections were released by the Russian Center for Public Opinion Research (VCIOM), according to Reuters.

The Russian president’s margin of victory was the highest ever, surpassing the 76.7% of votes obtained in the 2018 elections, in which voter participation reached 67.5%.

In this way, Putin won his fifth term as head of state of Russia in these elections, which he should maintain until 2030. At that time, Putin will turn 77 years old, and will have the possibility of an additional term until 2036, due to a change constitutional made in 2020.

It should be remembered that Putin has been in power for 25 years, since 1999.

The second most voted candidate was the communist Nikolai Kharitonov, with 4% of the votes, followed by the representative of the New People party, Vladislav Davankov, with 3.86%. The last candidate is the ultranationalist Leonid Slutski, with 3% of the votes.

The opposition to the Kremlin was unable to run in the elections, as the electoral commission did not register their candidates for various technical reasons or formal issues, due to their support for peace in Ukraine.

The participation rate, three hours before the polls closed, was over 74%, which is expected to be a historic high since the first direct presidential elections in Russia, in 1991.

The vote was marked by several protests by Russians who wanted to demonstrate their discontent with Putin’s governance. The widow of Alexei Navalny, the Russian opponent who died about a month ago, appealed to voters to, in protest, gather at the polling stations at 12 pm.

Yulia Navalnaya was present in Berlin, Germany, where she joined the voters who voted there. Small protests took place all over the world.

In addition, several incidents of contempt have been recorded in some parts of Russia over the past few days, with authorities making arrests. Among the records, there were ballot boxes that were set on fire and protests in which green paint was used – to represent a chemical with which Navalny had already been attacked.

On Saturday, Russian authorities reported that their electoral infrastructure had been the target of around 90,000 computer attacks on Friday alone, the first day of voting for the presidential elections.

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has already hailed Vladimir Putin’s “resounding victory”, while state television highlighted the “colossal support” for the Kremlin leader.

“I congratulate Vladimir Putin on his resounding victory,” wrote Medvedev, number two on the Russian Security Council and who held the presidency from 2008 to 2012, with Vladimir Putin as prime minister.

Putin’s re-election was already expected, with polls showing that 80% of voters wanted the Russian president to continue in power.

[Notícia atualizada às 19h05]

Read Also: At least 74 detained in protests against Putin. Number should grow

Source: https://www.noticiasaominuto.com/mundo/2522987/putin-vence-as-eleicoes-presidenciais-na-russia-com-87-8-dos-votos

Leave a Reply