Russia: Vladimir Putin has won the 2024 Russian presidential election with a record margin, claiming the victory shows Russians trust him.
Early returns from Russia’s Central Election Commission indicate that Putin is likely to extend his 25-year rule until 2030, with about 87 percent of the votes counted after 80 percent of precincts reported. Putin dismissed the protests during the election and warned that any ‘crimes’ would be punished after the elections.
According to the Russian political leader, he was briefed on an idea to free his political foe, Alexei Navalny, from prison, just days before the opposition leader died in an Arctic prison last month. He agreed to the idea on the condition that Navalny would not return to Russia.
Putin stated that, “Of course, we have lots of tasks ahead. But I want to make it clear for everyone. When we were consolidated, no one has ever managed to frighten us, to suppress our will and our self-conscience. They failed in the past and they will fail in the future.”
The Russian leader expressed concern that if Western troops were to be present in Ukraine, it could lead to World War III. However, he believed that no one would be interested in such a catastrophic scenario. The election took place after a long period of suppression of dissent, including numerous attacks by Ukrainian missiles and drones inside Russia, which resulted in the loss of many lives.
It appears that critics of the government are either imprisoned or forced into exile. Furthermore, voters hold very limited options when it comes to choosing their leaders. Independent monitoring of the election process was also restricted.
Despite these challenges, Navalny’s associates encouraged those who were unhappy with Putin or the war to protest by coming out to vote. This led to long queues outside several polling stations, both within Russia and at its embassies around the world.
Earlier Yulia Navalnaya, Navalny’s widow, requested Russians to protest on election day through social media posts. Navalnaya joined the long queue at the Russian Embassy in Berlin as some in the masses hailed and chimed her name. After casting her vote Navalny’s wife said that she wrote her late husband’s name on the ballot.
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