President Vladimir Putin has emerged victorious in the Russian presidential election, giving him an unprecedented fifth term in office since coming to power in 2000.
The election results, announced by Russia’s Central Election Commission show Putin with a landslide 87% of the votes cast, underscoring his enduring popularity among Russians and dominance of Russian politics.
The 71-year old former KGB officer from St. Petersburg has gripped Russia for about a quarter of a century since succeeding his former boss Boris Yeltsin. His latest win should leave him in power till 2040 (six years tenure) and constitutionally he could go for re-election then, if he so pleases.
Russia’s Weak Opposition
Putin had only three rivals sharing the remainder 10% of the votes: Nikolai Kharitonov of the Communist Party (3.8%), Vladislav Davankov of the New People Party (3.86%) and Leonid Slutsky of the Liberal Democrats (2.97%)
His fiercest political opponent, Alexei Navalny, sadly passed away just a month prior leaving a void in the opposition movement.
Navalny’s absence, however, did not dampen the determination of his associates and supporters who launched a call to action called “a vote at noonday”, in which supporters were mobilized to go and vote for any candidate but Putin.
Putin Mocks America In Victory Speech
In his victory speech, Putin thanked Russians for their “hope” and “trust” in his leadership.
“I dream of a strong, independent, sovereign Russia,” Putin told his audience, expressing hopes that the results of the vote “will allow us all, together with the Russian people, to achieve these goals.”
White House called Putin’s election a “sham” but in his victory speech, Putin mocked American democracy, describing it as “uncivilized” and saying Washington has instead become a laughing stock to the rest of the world by using their administrative resources to suppress one of their presidential candidates – an apparent reference to different lawsuits to stop Donald Trump from contesting this year’s election.
Speaking to journalists at his campaign headquarters in Moscow early Monday morning, the Russian leader said the “whole world is laughing at what is happening” in the US.
“We are behaving with more restraint than their opponents in other countries, but this is just a catastrophe, not a democracy – that’s what it is,” Putin said.
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