I’m not going nyet, insists Vlad the stayer
MOSCOW: Russians overwhelmingly approved a package of constitutional changes in a nationwide vote that allows President Vladimir Putin to extend his two-decade rule until 2036, state officials said yesterday.
With just over 85 per cent of ballots counted after the end of seven days of voting, 77.8 per cent of voters had supported the reforms, according to election commission figures cited by Russian state agencies.
There had been little doubt of voters backing the changes, which Mr Putin announced earlier this year — and which critics have denounced as a cynical manoeuvre to allow him to stay in power for life.
Top Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny slammed the results as a “huge lie” that did not reflect real public opinion.
The amendments had been passed weeks ago by Russia’s parliament, and copies of the new constitution were already on sale in bookshops. But Mr Putin insisted that voter approval was essential to give them legitimacy.
The reforms include conservative and populist measures such as guaranteed minimum pensions and an effective ban on gay marriage. But Mr Putin also included a clause to reset presidential limits, allowing him to run twice again after his current six-year term expires in 2024.
The Kremlin pulled out all the stops to encourage voting, with polls extended over nearly a week. The last day of voting was declared a national holiday and prizes — including apartments, cars and cash — were on offer to voters.
Mr Putin said the changes would ensure Russia’s “stability, security and prosperity”.