Russian people cast their ballots during the presidential elections in Moscow, Russia, on March 15, 2024. Four candidates registered by the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation are vying for the post of head of state: Leonid Slutsky, Nikolai Kharitonov, Vladislav Davankov and Vladimir Putin. Photo by Maxim Shipenkov/EPA-EFE
Russian President Vladimir Putin has thanked voters for their faith in him as he appears headed for a sixth term in office.
“We have a lot of specific, important tasks ahead,” Putin said in a speech to supporters Sunday. “The result of the election signifies trust on the part of the country’s citizens and their hope that we will do just as we planned.” Advertisement
Russians gathered at polling stations Sunday, the last day to cast a ballot in an election that realistically offered voters no alternative to Putin.
Many people at the voting locations had followed widespread calls for protest to the lack of alternatives to Putin, whose opponents are either in jail, in exile or dead. His chief critic, Alexy Navalny, died amid suspicious circumstances in an Arctic prison earlier this month.
Navalny’s associates urged people unhappy with Putin’s war against Ukraine to protest by going to the polls at noon on Sunday. Lines appeared to grow outside polling stations inside Russia and at its embassies around the world at about that time.
Navalny’s widow Yulia was among those who protested outside the Russian Embassy in Berlin as some people in the crowd applauded and chanted her name. Advertisement
She told reporters that she wrote her late husband’s name on the ballot after spending more than five hours in line to cast her ballot.
“Please stop asking for messages from me or from somebody for Mr. Putin,” she told the assembled reporters who asked questions. “There could be no negotiations and nothing with Mr. Putin, because he’s a killer, he’s a gangster.”
Putin, who has been in power for nearly a quarter of a century, is set to extend his rule for another 6 years following a crackdown on dissent. Early polling returns show he had nearly 88% of the vote with 24% of the precincts counted, according to Russia’s Central Election Commission.
The election took place amid attacks on Russia by Ukrainian missiles and drones, which have killed several people. Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine two years ago, its second attempt in less than a decade to take control of the country. Ukraine has sought international aid to continue its resistance and has proved to be a more difficult opponent than experts thought.
