6 more years for Russia’s Putin
Vladimir Putin cruises to victory for another six-year presidential term after an election in Russia that was long on spectacle and short on suspense, and he tells his supporters, “Success awaits us!”
MOSCOW — Vladimir Putin cruised to victory Sunday for another six-year presidential term after an election that was long on spectacle and short on suspense.
From the Arctic to the International Space Station, Russia rolled out an elaborate presidential-election-day display designed to show the breadth of Putin’s public support as he extended his tenure for a fourth term to 2024.
Putin’s opponents on Sunday’s ballot included a nationalist, a Communist and two liberals. But Putin barely campaigned, opposition activist Alexei Navalny was barred from the ballot, and reports of ballotstuffing and people ordered to vote by their employers rolled in throughout the day.
With about two-thirds of the ballots counted, more than 75 percent were for Putin, according to the Central Election Commission. The runner-up was Communist Party candidate Pavel Grudinin with 12.7 percent.
“Success awaits us!” Putin told supporters. “Together, we will get to work on a great, massive scale, in the name of Russia.”
The biggest question as Russians went to the polls was the level of turnout. The Kremlin, analysts say, was looking for high turnout to deliver legitimacy for another Putin term.
Russia’s Central Election Commission said nationwide turnout stood at 59.9 percent — just above the level in the 2012 election at that time.