President Vladimir Putin has appealed to Russians’ ‘love of the fatherland’ to encourage them to vote on Sunday, as he seeks to boost turnout at an election he is sure to win.
The Kremlin is seeking high participation to give legitimacy to Putin’s inevitable fourth term – as seven in ten Russians are predicted to vote for him.
A Putin victory on Sunday will put him on track to become Russia’s longest-serving leader since Josef Stalin.
Do it for daddy: Vladimir Putin is urging Russians to think of their ‘love of the fatherland’ and make sure that they go to the polls on Sunday
‘Who to vote for, how to exercise your right to free choice, that is the decision of each person,’ the 65-year-old said in a video released late Thursday and carried in news bulletins Friday morning.
‘But, if the decision is avoided, then this key, defining choice will be made without your opinion being taken into account,’ he added.
He said Russians should be guided in their decision by their ‘conscience, understanding of truth and fairness, and love of the fatherland.’
Putin is predicted to win with around 70 per cent of the vote, despite a lacklustre campaign and his refusal to participate in televised debates.
He is standing against seven other candidates, including millionaire communist Pavel Grudinin and former reality TV host Ksenia Sobchak, but none are polling more than eight per cent.
Putin the effort: Putin addresses the audience during a rally marking the fourth anniversary of Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea region in the Black Sea port of Sevastopol, Crimea
Navalny, Putin’s most vocal critic, has been barred from standing because he has a criminal conviction that his supporters have slammed as politically motivated.
The Russian leader served two four-year presidential terms in 2000-2008 before shifting into the prime minister’s seat due to term limits.
Putin continued calling the shots during the next four years as his longtime associate Dmitry Medvedev served as Russia’s president.
Before stepping down to let Putin reclaim the top job in 2012, Medvedev initiated constitutional changes that extended the presidential term to six years.
The legal limit of two consecutive presidential terms means that Putin won’t be able to run again in 2024, but many observers expect him to continue playing the top role in Russian politics even after that, possibly by abolishing term limits or shifting to another position of power.