Russia sets March 17 for presidential election

RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS - In Brief 08 Dec 2023 by Alex Teddy

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On December 7 the Russian Federal Council approved the date for 2024. Anti-corruption campaigner Alexey Navalny said from jail people should vote for anyone but Putin. Navalny said that the election would be rigged but people should vote nonetheless. He said it is a referendum on the war. A ''Russia without Putin'' campaign has started.  Putin has not announced his candidacy but is universally expected to do so. His spokesman said there is no need for an election as it is obvious that Putin shall win. His re-election to another 6-year term is a foregone conclusion; real opposition candidates are jailed as extremists, and others find it impossible to register. Moreover, there was ample evidence of ballot-stuffing for Putin in 2018. Admittedly Putin won more votes than the other candidates but not by as wide a margin as was announced.   There is a rumor that a businessman with liberal leanings has agreed to run as a dummy candidate.  The segments of society whom Putin can rely on are elderly people, public sector workers, the Armed Forces and the intelligence services. Remote and poverty-stricken reasons are reliant on state subsidies and are more likely to be convinced by state media. Moscow and even his native St Petersburg are centers of opposition. Putin would rather win without too much cheating. Flagrant large-scale cheating in Belarus's presidential election in 2020 led to enormous protests and seriously threatened Lukashenko's rule.