“Mock Elections” – More than 30 candidates in Russia’s presidential elections

In Russia, more than thirty candidates will participate in the presidential elections in March. This was announced on Tuesday by the chairman of the Central Election Commission, Ella Pamfilova, according to a report by Tass news agency. “Of course the election campaign will be very competitive, because it is clear that there will be more than one candidate,” Pamfilova said. “There are at least more than thirty candidates who want to put themselves forward.”

Last Saturday, former television journalist Yekaterina Dunsova was excluded from the elections. Pamfilova justified this with errors in the application for admission as a candidate. The ex-journalist campaigned for the end of the war in Ukraine and the release of political prisoners.

No opposition candidate will be admitted
Critics view the vote as a sham election designed to legitimize a new term for incumbent Vladimir Putin. They complain that no real opposition candidate will stand for the elections.

Putin became president for the first time around the turn of the year 1999/2000, replacing Boris Yeltsin. Since then he has shaped Russian politics, especially as president. He was prime minister from 2008 to 2012, because the constitution only provided for two consecutive terms as president. At that moment, he and Dmitry Medvedev switched positions. However, in early 2020, the constitution was amended to reset Putin’s term limit to zero. The 71-year-old can therefore participate again in 2024.