Putin won the Russian election, extending his tenure by six more years.

Unsurprisingly, President Vladimir Putin won a landslide reelection, securing six more years in office at a time when opposition and free speech are being severely suppressed more than during the Soviet era.

The three days of voting, which saw Putin up against three token candidates who gave voters no genuine options, were characterized by a degree of pressure not seen in previous Russian elections and were conducted with without any outside oversight. Though it gave limited opportunity for protests, some Russians attempted to elude the law.

Putin earned 87.28% of the vote, the most of any president in post-Soviet Russia, according to the Central Election Commission. The highest voter turnout, 77.44% of the electorate, was reported. Anti-war candidates were barred from running, and the remaining candidates on the ballot all received single digit results.

Few independent monitors were present to record anomalies, and there was no evidence from polling place CCTV cameras showing voter fraud or ballot-box stuffing. Access to the videotape was more severely limited than in prior elections.

Political analyst Abbas Gallyamov, a former Putin’s speechwriter, said that Putin appeared at ease during a news conference following the election, likely recognizing that “he has secured his future for at least six years ahead.”

Putin showed off his confidence by mentioning Navalny by name, something he had deliberately refrained from doing in public for years. He also disclosed that, in the days prior to his opponent’s passing, he had been in favor of Navalny’s release from prison through a prisoner exchange.

Source: The Associated Press, March 19, 2024.