ALBAWABA - Early voting in Russian presidential elections has kicked off in many Russian cities.
Early voting is initially aimed at citizens who live in parts of the country that are difficult to reach. Also, sailors who will be at sea on the main days of the election can cast their votes starting this Sunday.
According to the rules, areas can begin the early voting session after February 25, but it must end by March 14.
According to Russia's Central Election Commission, approximately 180,000 people voted early in the previous presidential election in 2018, with 31,000 voting at polling stations aboard ships at sea.
Voting has already begun in Zaporizhzhia Region for those who live along the front lines. Early voting will begin in the Kherson Region on Tuesday, and in the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics on March 10 and 11, respectively. In 2022, all four former Ukrainian territories voted in referendums to join Russia, RT reported.
The main voting period for the 2024 presidential election will be from March 15 to 17. This is the country's first multi-day presidential election. The same method has been used in other Russian elections since it emerged during the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to the Russian newspaper Kommersant, voting will be expanded to areas of Ukraine currently occupied by the Russian military in early March, though specific dates have yet to be announced.
Putin signed legislation in 2021 that allowed him to run for two more presidential terms, potentially extending his reign until 2036, following a referendum the previous year that permitted him to reset the clock on his term limitations. This election will mark the beginning of the first of two additional terms.
Four people have been approved by the commission to run for president: Vladislav Davankov of the New People party, the current president, Vladimir Putin, who is running as an independent and is the frontrunner, Leonid Slutsky of the nationalist LDPR party, and Nikolay Kharitonov of the Communist Party.
