Russia is on the verge of concluding its presidential election, with Vladimir Putin likely to secure another term to continue his actions in Ukraine and his stance against the West.
The voter turnout has surpassed 59 percent, as reported by state television early on Sunday, citing Russia’s Central Election Commission. The voting is scheduled to end in the Kaliningrad region at 9 pm Moscow time, with exit poll results expected shortly after. Putin achieved a remarkable 77 percent of the vote in the 2018 election with a turnout of 67.5 percent.
The Kremlin aims to replicate this success in the current election to portray Putin’s victory as a sign of unity in support of the conflict in Ukraine and his stance against the West. Putin faces minimal opposition in the tightly controlled election, with three other candidates representing Kremlin-friendly parties.
At 71 years old, Putin is already Russia’s longest-serving leader since Josef Stalin, and he is poised to extend his rule by another six years while actively involved in the conflict in Ukraine. Despite facing international sanctions, Russia’s economy has remained stable due to energy revenues and increased government spending to support defense and domestic businesses.
The country is also strengthening its trade relations with China as it shifts focus away from European markets. According to Andrei Kolesnikov, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the Putin regime has adapted to a state of perpetual war in the past two years.
Allies of the deceased opposition leader Alexey Navalny, who passed away in a prison camp in the Arctic last month, have called upon their supporters to demonstrate their opposition to Putin’s election by showing up to vote at polling stations precisely at noon on Sunday.
Observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe were not invited by Russia to monitor the election. In January, the OSCE stated that this lack of invitation was indicative of a critical point in the “democratic backsliding” of the country.
Despite the anticipated outcome of the election, Russian officials are unwilling to acknowledge any flaws in the process.
During a youth conference in Moscow earlier this month, Peskov declared, “We will no longer tolerate criticism of our democracy. Our democracy is unparalleled.”
