Russians give Putin the chance to stay in power until 2036 after historic vote

Opposition politician Alexei Navalny, who has heavily criticized the electoral procedure during the week-long vote, called it illegitimate. “We’ll never recognize this result,” Navalny told supporters in a video, Reuters reported. Navalny said on Twitter the opposition would focus its efforts on regional elections later this year in its efforts to defeat ruling party United Russia.

“The best reaction to what happened is not despair and anxiety, but the mobilization of thousands of observers this fall and the defeat of United Russia in the regional elections, where at least some procedure has remained,” Navalny tweeted.

Putin gave a speech Tuesday, on the eve of the last day of voting, calling on Russians to vote, though he did not mention how the changes would amend rules to the presidential office that “reset the clock” on Putin’s presidency.

“We are going to vote for the country where we want to live, with cutting-edge education and health care, a reliable system of social protection and an effective government accountable to the people,” he said in a national address after unveiling a patriotic monument to Soviet soldiers.

“We are going to vote for a country to the benefit of which we have been working and which we would like to pass on to our children and grandchildren.”

Putin has seen his popularity decline in recent months to around 60%, a far cry from the near-90% approval rating seen in mid-2015, according to the independent Levada Center.

The president has been criticized for what some have described as a hands-off approach to the pandemic: Russia has the third-highest number of cases in the world, with 653,479 reported infections, to date, and 9,521 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Article source: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/02/russia-vote-victory-for-putin-who-could-now-stay-in-power-until-2036.html