The upper chamber of the Russian parliament has designated March 17, 2024, as the date for the next presidential election, which is widely predicted to be won by longtime President Vladimir Putin.
The senators overwhelmingly accepted the date in a live televised meeting, a step that “practically kicks off the presidential campaign,” according to the Russian chamber’s head, Valentina Matvienko.
Putin, who has been in power in Russia as president or prime minister since 2000, has not officially declared his intention to run in the election, although he is widely expected to do so.
The election will be held two years after Russia launched a “special military operation” in Ukraine in February 2022 and annexed the Ukrainian provinces of Lugansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia.
According to Matvienko, the election “will be a sort of culmination of reunification” for the regions.
The election will be the first since Russia’s Constitution was amended in 2020. As a result of the reforms, incumbent President Vladimir Putin is now entitled to run for re-election. In January 2023, the Russian publication Kommersant announced that preparations for his presidential campaign were started.
His spokesman then refuted this. Putin has yet to declare whether he would run for re-election, but it is widely thought that he will.
Putin declared in September 2023 that he would make a declaration only when the election was called. Boris Nadezhdin, a former member of the State Duma, launched his anti-war movement in November 2023.
Although other candidates have declared their candidacy, Nadezhdin is the first to be endorsed by a registered political party, enhancing the likelihood that he will be on the ballot.
