Putin Against Himself: Presidential Elections in Russia | today's news

Starting Friday, Russia will vote. A total of 112.3 million voters in the country, in addition to 1.9 million voters abroad, will have until March 17 to fill out the electoral card. In a country at war with no freedom of expression, there is no greater expectation of what might happen. We won't have to wait until next Sunday to find out the result: Vladimir Putin, who was almost the only head of state Russia has had in the entire 21st century, will emerge victorious.

For the first time in the presidential elections, three days have been allocated for voting, which will also take place in the regions of Lugansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhia, which Russia illegally annexed. This type of vote has already been approved with a 2020 referendum on constitutional reforms that would allow Putin to remain in power for two additional terms. Last December, Ella Pamfilova, head of Russia's Central Electoral Commission, announced that the same measures would be taken for this vote, because it had “already become a tradition in Russia.” [su] electoral system.”

“It was first used during the pandemic [de covid-19]But over time, most voters have come to like this format for its other advantages.

Criticisms of this model suggest that with longer voting periods, fraud becomes easier to commit. This is especially true because ballot boxes are kept at polling stations at night, making review of violations by election workers and observers complex.

Even if it is just one day, the vote will be decided from the beginning: Putin, 71, will win. According to VTsiom, a state-controlled pollster, 75% of Russian citizens would vote for the incumbent president. A poll conducted by the Levada Center, which is not under the control of the Kremlin, on the approval of the head of state, found that more than 80% supported him, with an increase after the start of the Russian invasion. However, these measurements are not completely reliable, not only because of the surveillance under which everything operates in Russia, but also taking into account that there is a fear among the population of criticizing Putin.

“What will happen in Russia is not an election, it is a spectacle, a political ritual, in which people do not choose a candidate according to their program or other preferences, but rather it is part of a ritual that seeks to give this kind of legitimacy to put it in. They seek to verify it, to give it a basis.” To say that people support it, but it is not the same kind of support that one gets when there are democratic elections where there is free competition between candidates, where there is freedom of choice. “Expression,” says Vladimir Rovinsky, a professor at ISI University.

However, three other candidates besides Putin will appear on the electoral ticket, but their support does not exceed 13%. The first of them, whose voting intention is 6%, is Vladislav Davakanov, from the New People's Party. He has declared himself an anti-war candidate, asserting that he will seek to achieve peace with Ukraine through negotiations, normalize relations with Western countries, and stop the persecution of the opposition. It is subject to sanctions from the United States, the European Union, and the United Kingdom for “violating Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

The second is Nikolai Kharitonov, from the Communist Party, with 4% support. He has been a member of the Duma since 1993 and stressed during the election campaign that he would avoid criticizing Putin. In addition to the sanctions imposed on him by the same parties as Davakanov, he has said that he will end Russia's participation in the World Trade Organization and the International Monetary Fund.

The third is Leonid Slutsky, from the Liberal Democratic Party, with a vote target of 3%. Nicknamed the “Russian Harvey Weinstein” due to accusations of sexual harassment, he has been a member of the Duma since 2000 and claims that the “main goal” of his election platform is the “final and rapid victory” of the “noble and sacred military operation.” “For Russia in Ukraine.

None of them are real rivals to Putin. As usual, there were no debates between the candidates and no mass rallies took place. Without electoral programs or events, the current president is certain of his victory, allied with the Central Electoral Commission, which rejected the nominations of Boris Nadezhdin and Yekaterina Dontsova, who were gathering unexpected support, claiming that there were errors in the nomination documents.

“Putin needs these other candidates to declare real victory over alternatives that are not. Their role is that of actors in a show whose role is predetermined,” says Rovinsky.

The opposition, which recently received a heavy blow from the death of Alexei Navalny, who was the most prominent opposition leader, has been constantly criticizing the elections. Anti-Putin activist Leonid Volkov described the elections as a “circus” and said it was a “propaganda effort to spread despair.” The situation becomes clearer if we take into account that the president received “preferential treatment by the media,” which mentions him at least 10 times more than his “competitors.”

“To vote against Putin, just vote for any other candidate,” Navalny said in one of his last appearances before judges, on February 8. In a country where marches are prohibited, and anyone who expresses positions that do not agree with the Kremlin cannot appear on the electoral ballot, the opposition manifests itself in other ways.

Alexei, a Russian citizen from St. Petersburg, said: “Any result other than Vladimir Putin’s victory is impossible, it is a fantasy.” Al Jazeera. “I will vote just to clear my conscience: it is the last chance to protest in Russia without the obvious risk of arrest. In general, I think it is important to go to the elections, even if they have not decided anything in Russia.”

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