Russia is ending a turbulent election marketing campaign following the dying of Alexei Navalny and the omnipotent presence of Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin ended his election marketing campaign this Thursday with the clear aim of immortalizing one other six Years within the Kremlin, which all polls counsel is greater than seemingly, whereas calls are being made for the West to not acknowledge the outcomes of the presidential election.

The election marketing campaign was turbulent, marked by the dying of Alexei Navalny in a distant Arctic jail and by Putin targeted on boosting his picture as commander-in-chief of the armed forces amid the offensive in Ukraine's Donbas. He has additionally targeted on highlighting the significance of accelerating manufacturing within the army trade, the place, in response to some estimates three.5 million folks.

“The world should assume as soon as and for all that Putin shouldn’t be who he appears. In actuality he’s a usurper.” a tyrant, a conflict prison and a assassin“mentioned Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of the late Navalny, in an article printed this week in The Washington Put up.

The 112 million Russians went to the polls You possibly can vote for 3 days – Friday, Saturday and Sunday. an choice launched in the course of the pandemic that the opposition considers fraudulent, in addition to digital voting, which could be exercised by a 3rd of the voters.

Putin addressed Russians on tv Thursday to induce them to participate in elections, which he known as a “step into the longer term,” stressing that troopers combating in Ukraine “defend their homeland with braveness and heroism.” participate within the elections as a job mannequin for all of us.

Though greater than half of Russians help beginning peace negotiations with Ukraine and successes on the Ukrainian battlefield have been poor, Putin has a voting intention of over 80%.

The presidential administration introduced this to the press sought a historic victory to help the Kremlin's militaristic course and every little thing signifies that he’ll succeed, as Putin has by no means received an election with greater than 77% of the vote.

The Central Election Fee (CEC) solely three candidates registered, None of them are actually opponents: the communist Nikolai Kharitonov and the New Individuals's candidate Vladislav Davankov, who’ve 6% of the voting intentions, and the ultranationalist Leonid Slutski, who seems third within the race with 5%.

By reforming the constitutional provisions that prevented him from remaining within the Kremlin, Putin will be capable of run for re-election in 2030, when he might be 77.

The President of the CEC, Ela Pamfilova, assured that the elections will happen “for the primary time” in “a”. poisonous worldwide environment” and accused Western international locations of an “unprecedented cynical violation” of the voting rights of Russians dwelling overseas.

“This isn’t only a presidential election, the destiny of Russia is at stake, what to do sooner or later. By the way in which, (these elections) will decide to a big extent how the world will develop. The transition from unfair monopoly to “egalitarian relations between international locations,” he introduced.

Pamfilova, who’s accused by the opposition of getting manipulated the election outcomes since she took workplace in 2016, introduced this just lately The Individuals's Republics of Donetsk and Lugansk can even voteand the Zaporiya and Jershon areas, alluding to the 4 Ukrainian territories annexed by Russia.

Till four.5 million inhabitants Within the territories occupied by the Russian military, they’ll train their proper to vote even when they don’t have Russian citizenship, a lot of whom have already voted upfront.

The very best second of the marketing campaign was the dying of Navalni in jail – and for which the household and the West blame Putin – however the Kremlin hopes that this issue doesn’t have an effect on its victory.

“I believe they killed him. It was a deliberate determination.” I believe they did it with poison“Guennadi Gudkov, a former Russian MP in exile in Bulgaria, instructed EFE.

Gudkov, who labored within the Federal Safety Service (FSB), believes that the authorities determined to take revenge on the opponent for “all of the humiliations” he subjected her to over time together with his corruption allegations.

“The organizer was Putin,” mentioned Gudkov, who recalled that the unique plan was for Navalny to by no means go away jail, however they modified their minds after describing the 2013 pardon of tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky as a “massive one “errors” had admitted.

For all these causes, Navalnaya, imprisoned opponent Vladimir Kara-Murzá and Gudkov flip to Western leaders, parliaments and societies with a single demand: that they don’t acknowledge “utterly fraudulent” electionswhose solely aim is to “retain energy.”

“The West shouldn’t acknowledge the outcomes. Recognizing Putin as head of state after the election could be an indication of weak point,” he mentioned.

He assured that “There have by no means been such prison elections in Russia,” As a result of they happen when Russian troops violate worldwide legislation and commit “conflict crimes” in Ukraine.

“We’re not calling for the embassies to be closed,” he mentioned, including that Western international locations ought to not less than “not acknowledge the elections as authentic.”