Putin rushes to tighten grip on power before his stock plummets further
THROWN off course by the coronavirus pandemic, Vladimir Putin is moving to regain the political initiative for his plan to remain as Russia’s president potentially until 2036.
Mr Putin may announce a snap ballot within weeks on proposed changes to the constitution that allow him to sidestep term limits, said four people familiar with Kremlin discussions on the matter.
Electronic voting will be used as well as polling stations to boost turnout and the result, the people said.
Mr Putin delayed the referendum on constitutional amendments originally scheduled for April 22 when the coronavirus crisis erupted. What had seemed a formality then now looks a harder sell.
Like millions around the world, Russians were thrust into hardship and uncertainty about their jobs after Mr Putin in late March ordered a nationwide lockdown that sparked a 33pc plunge in economic activity in the country.
“Putin is in a real hurry to get the constitutional reform through,” said Sergei Markov, a political consultant to the Kremlin. “He wants to get it done as quickly as possible.”
While there are signs the Covid-19 epidemic is starting to wane in Russia, which has the world’s second-highest number of infections, the turmoil unleashed by the virus and an unprecedented slump in oil prices continues to rip through the economy.
As regional officials gradually ease lockdown restrictions, the Kremlin
‘Putin is in a real hurry to get the reform through’
remains wary of a potential second wave of coronavirus cases in the autumn.
That’s all driving pressure for Mr Putin to call the referendum for late June or early July.
Officials fear it’s too risky to delay the vote until September or later because public discontent may be at a peak by then.
It took less than a week for parliament and the Constitutional Court to rubber-stamp the changes endorsed by Mr Putin in March that allow him to seek two more sixyear terms after his current presidency ends in 2024.
However, he made the amendments conditional on public approval in a referendum, effectively handing voters a veto that Mr Putin’s opponents may now seek to exploit as his popularity slides.
Even state-run pollsters say only about half of Russians now support the plan.
Mr Putin has opted to introduce electronic voting to ensure millions of state employees casting their ballots via a government portal will back the changes out of concern their votes won’t be anonymous, said two people close to the Russian leader.
The use of electronic ballots means election observers will have far less ability to detect fraud, said Grigory Melkonyants, co-head of the Golos vote-monitoring group.