Russian President Vladimir Putin (71) officially declared his candidacy for the presidential election on the 8th (local time). If President Putin succeeds in coming back to power in the presidential election held from March 15th to 17th next year, he can remain in power until 2030, when he turns 78. In effect, it becomes possible to remain in power for life.
The official Sputnik news agency reported that President Putin accepted a request from the Speaker of the Donetsk Republic’s Parliament to run for president while attending the ‘Heroes of the Fatherland Day’ event held at the Moscow Kremlin Palace on this day.
He took over as acting prime minister following the resignation of former President Boris Yeltsin in December 1999. He briefly stepped down as prime minister, but soon returned to power and continued his long-term rule. If he succeeds in coming back to power in next year’s presidential election, he will have been living as a modern-day ‘Tsar’ (emperor of Imperial Russia) for over 30 years. Local media believe that President Putin will reveal specific presidential election plans at a press conference on the 14th.
There is strong public criticism of President Putin abroad due to his long term in power, suppression of opposition, and war in Ukraine, but his support is still strong at home. According to the state-run TASS news agency, in a survey released today by the opinion polling company VTsIOM, public trust in President Putin was found to be 78.5%, the same as last week. The survey was conducted on 1,600 adults living in Russia from the 27th of last month to the 3rd of this month.
Russia, the largest country in the world by area, has such a vast territory that it is difficult to hold elections in one day. This presidential election also appears to be held over three days.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.