Russian presidential election to take place over three days; Putin to run again

The presidential elections in Russia will be held over a period of three days in March. Critics of the Kremlin argue that the poll strategy would make the elections less transparent and have opposed the move. Moscow this week set March 17 as the date for a presidential election which is expected to be another shoo-in for Vladimir Putin, who has silenced opposition during over two decades in power. “The CEC (Central Election Commission) of the Russian Federation has approved a three-day voting period for the Russian presidential election. It will be held from March 15 to 17, 2024,” the commission said. Meanwhile, Putin announced his re-election bid on Friday, allowing the Kremlin leader to extend his decades-long grip on power into the 2030s. The 71-year-old ex-KGB official has been the president of Russia for two decades, winning four presidential elections. He also served as a prime minister briefly. Putin, however, is unlikely to face any contender in his bid for a fifth term and will likely seek a big mandate to conceal domestic discord over the Ukraine conflict, analysts have said. Ballot monitors and the opposition in Russia say elections are marred by pervasive reports of irregularities and that independent candidates are sidelined by the Kremlin. Russia first introduced multiple-day voting in 2020, ostensibly as part of measures to protect voters against coronavirus, but the system came under fire from the political opposition. With inputs from AFP