Day: March 15, 2024

Russians head to polls to elect the country’s President. The voting is set to take place for three days through Sunday.

Four candidates are vying for the post which comes with a six-year term. Incumbent Vladimir Putin, who is running as an independent candidate, is up against the head of the right-wing Liberal Democratic Party (LDPR) Leonid Slutsky, Communist candidate Nikolay Kharitonov, and Vladislav Davankov, representing the liberal centrist New People.

Apart from voting at polling stations in person, residents of some 28 regions are able to cast their ballots online through the country’s electronic voting system.

The election is projected to have a high turnout of some 71% according to estimates by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VTSIOM) pollster. Early voting has already taken place in several remote regions of Russia, with around two million people having already cast ballots, official figures show.