Voting continues for the second day in the presidential elections in Russia
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Moscow. Voters are exercising their franchise in Russia on Saturday, the second day of voting for the presidential election. It is considered certain that President Vladimir Putin will get six more years of tenure in the elections. Voting is going on in polling stations located in 11 ‘time zones’ of the country as well as in illegally occupied areas of Ukraine. The election comes after two years of repression of independent media and reputable rights groups, giving Putin complete control over the political system, and Moscow’s war against Ukraine.
The elections are being held at a time when Putin’s political opponents are either in jail or in exile abroad. Putin’s staunchest opponent and most vocal opposition leader Alexei Navalny died in an Arctic prison in February at the age of 47. Officials said voting was continuing in an orderly manner. But despite tight controls, at least half a dozen cases of vandalism at polling stations have been reported. Leaders of western countries have called this election a mockery of democracy.
European Council President Charles Michel sarcastically congratulated Putin on Friday on his “resounding victory” in the election, for which voting is technically still underway. “No opposition, no freedom, no alternative,” he wrote on social media platform ‘X’. Meanwhile, in the absence of late opposition leader Navalny, his team faces the difficult challenge of maintaining the opposition movement against Putin. The team’s movement “Noon Against Putin” has been supported by Navalny’s wife Yulia Navalnaya.
They are urging voters to vote to show their dissatisfaction with Putin’s rule and the war against Ukraine. Navalnaya said in a video address, “This (movement) is a very simple and safe action, it cannot be stopped. This will give millions of people the opportunity to come face to face with their like-minded colleagues and help them realize that we are not alone, there are people with us who are against war, against corruption and against anarchy.
Disclaimer: IndiaTheNews has not edited this news. This news has been published from PTI-language feed.
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