Moscow [Russia], February 27: Russian voters began voting for a new presidential term at early voting stations, before the official election took place from March 15 to 17.
On February 26, RT reported that early elections had begun in some areas in Russia, mainly in remote areas, as well as collecting ballots from sailors who will be at sea during the main time of the election . Russian President term 2024 - 2030, scheduled to take place from March 15 - 17.
Mr. Putin's 3 opponents
For the first time since 2008, there are only 4 candidates on the list of Russian presidential candidates. In addition to President Vladimir Putin (72 years old), the Russian Central Election Commission (CEC) received the registration of Deputy Chairman of the State Duma (House of Representatives) of Russia Vladislav Davankov (40 years old) of the New People's Party, leader Liberal Democratic Party (LDPR) leader Leonid Slutsky (56 years old) and congressman Nikolai Kharitonov (76 years old) of the Russian Communist Party.
According to TASS, Mr. Davankov became the first presidential candidate of the New People's Party since the party's establishment in 2020. He is currently vice chairman of the party, ran for the position of mayor of Moscow in 2023 and ranked 4th with 5.34% of the votes. The list does not include the name of candidate who opposes the Russian military campaign in Ukraine , Mr. Boris Nadezhdin, after the CEC banned him from running for election on the grounds of errors in collecting the necessary signatures for registration, according to Reuters. Russian media reported that Mr. Davankov still supports Mr. Nadezhdin's candidacy, saying that it is necessary for many candidates to participate in the election.
Another election opponent is candidate Slutsky, who will begin leading the LDPR from May 2022. He is the chairman of the Russian State Duma Foreign Affairs Committee and the third presidential candidate in LDPR history. Previously, this party nominated founder Vladimir Zhirinovsky to run for president six times from 1991 to 2018 and candidate Oleg Malyshkin in 2004 but were unsuccessful.
Challenging Mr. Putin's position is also candidate Kharitonov, who was a member of the Russian State Duma for 8 terms. 20 years ago, Mr. Kharitonov ranked 2nd in the race to the Kremlin and won 13.69% of the votes, while the majority of votes belonged to Mr. Putin.
The possibility of Mr. Putin being re-elected
Current President Putin chose to run independently instead of representing the United Russia party. Previously, the leader was elected in elections in 2000, 2004, 2012 and 2018, with the highest result being in 2018 with 76.69% of the votes. CNN quoted a survey by research organization Levada Center (Russia) in January showing that about 80% of more than 1,600 respondents expressed support for Mr. Putin. According to TASS, citing a recent survey by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center, the support rate for Mr. Putin is 75%, Mr. Davankov is 5%, Mr. Kharitonov is 4% and Mr. Slutsky is 4%. The survey involved 1,600 adults in Russia.
In a recent interview with Russian media, Vice Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev believes that President Putin will win the upcoming election with a high support rate. Mr. Medvedev recalled that the United Russia party congress unanimously supported Mr. Putin's independent candidacy.
This official believes that the current president has an even broader action plan than this party. According to him, President Putin will receive support not only from those who vote for this party but also from many other voters. It is expected that President Putin will read a federal message on February 29, mentioning many important domestic and foreign issues as well as his plans for the near future.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper