a A special election campaign is being held in Russia from March 15th to 17th. Incumbent President Vladimir Putin is certainly the frontrunner to succeed him. In a system with no political options, he would certainly achieve a victory score higher than his 2018 result (77% of the vote). Thanks to constitutional reforms enacted in 2020, he will be able to run for two more terms until 2036.
Two years after the invasion of Ukraine began, President Putin is feeling very confident. Russian troops can boast of having captured the Ukrainian town of Avdiivka. Despite Western sanctions, the economy is growing by 3.6%. Not a single member of the elite has deserted. Opponents were beheaded. And society remains insensitive to the loss of many lives on the front lines.
However, this “election” scenario would be the most tightly controlled electoral process Russia has experienced since Putin took office. Operational techniques have been well-developed, and new operational techniques have been added, such as electronic voting in about a third of Russia's regions. As usual, the outgoing president had no intention of participating in a debate with the other three puppet candidates. Little known to the Russian public, they come from a parliamentary party aligned with the Kremlin's policies. As a sign of loyalty, they will not campaign in the “new territory,” an annexed region of Ukraine, and images show hooded armed men accompanying mobile ballot boxes for early voting. The photograph shows an elderly person standing next to a man. The European Union has already made clear that voting in these regions, not all of which are under Moscow's control, will not be allowed.
shortcomings and setbacks
The election masquerade has a hard time attracting Russia's attention because there is no conspiracy. A recent report by the officially disbanded election monitoring NGO Golos describes a particularly lackluster campaign. Nevertheless, the Kremlin is sticking to it. Unlike in Ukraine, where the presidential election was postponed indefinitely as a result of martial law, Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov warned months before the election that all formal procedures had been followed and the presidential election was held on time. It has become clear that elections will actually be held. Prohibited by Russian law.
We shouldn't be surprised. “Personalist” authoritarian political regimes need to periodically reaffirm the legitimacy and popularity of their leaders. The all-powerful President Putin seeks admiration from the people and the elites. Given that since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine, his administration has shown some deficiencies in terms of the poor quality of information provided by the various special agencies that the president was confident could capture Kiev. , this is all the more true. [the Ukrainian name for the city known as Kiev in Russian] In 3 days, and in terms of setbacks suffered by the Russian army.
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