Opponents excluded

Russian election has begun: Putin’s victory is considered certain

A mobile polling station in Russian-occupied Donetsk(Bild: AFP)

A controversial presidential election to keep Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin in power has begun in Russia with the opposition excluded. In the world's largest country by area, polling stations opened first on Friday (local time) in the far east, for example on the Kamchatka peninsula in the Far East. The ballot, which is intended to secure Putin (71) a further six years in office, is overshadowed by Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine and massive allegations of manipulation.

The vote in the huge country with its eleven time zones will last until Sunday evening, when the last polling stations in Kaliningrad on the Baltic Sea close at 19:00 CET. The first forecasts are expected immediately afterwards.

Putin seeks fifth term in office
Russian state pollsters have already predicted that Putin, who has been in power for almost a quarter of a century and is seeking a fifth term in office, will receive more than 80 percent of the vote. That would be the highest result ever for him. Putin's three competitors are not only considered to have no chance. They are also all on the Kremlin line and sometimes directly support the incumbent. Candidates who spoke out against Putin's war of aggression were not even admitted as candidates.

Vladimir Putin, who has been in power for almost a quarter of a century and is seeking a fifth term in office, is predicted to receive more than 80 percent of the vote.(Bild: AFP)

Opposition: "election farce"
The opposition speaks of an "electoral farce" that has nothing in common with a vote according to democratic rules. Election observers from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) have not been invited this time.

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Election also in the occupied territories in Ukraine 
The Kremlin has also scheduled illegal mock votes in occupied areas of Ukraine over the three days. Ukraine protested against the votes, which were held in violation of international law, and called on the international community not to recognize the results. According to Russian figures, 4.5 million people have been called to vote in the occupied parts of the Ukrainian territories of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Kherson. Voting will also take place on the Ukrainian Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, which Moscow annexed back in 2014.

Russia puts the number of eligible voters living in other countries at around two million. According to the electoral commission, around 114 million people are therefore called to vote. Putin had the constitution amended in 2020 specifically so that he could run as a candidate again.