President Vladimir Putin has secured a fifth term in office after winning Russia’s presidential election with 87% of the vote. The election, which saw Putin as the only serious candidate, was met with protests and allegations of a lack of genuine competition. Supporters of the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died in a penal colony last month, called for voters to spoil their ballots or vote against Putin as a form of protest. Despite Putin’s victory, his opponents made their voices heard through protests and at polling stations both in Russia and abroad.
- President Vladimir Putin has won Russia’s presidential election with an 87% landslide victory.
- Putin is set to begin his fifth term in office, strengthening his long-standing control over Russia.
- Large queues at some polling stations were reported, following calls for protest votes in opposition to the election, which critics deemed unfair.
- The late opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s supporters urged people to spoil their ballots or vote for any other candidate, as an act of defiance.
- At least 80 protesters were arrested during the election protests.
- Julia Navalnaya, widow of Alexei Navalny, voted at the Russian Embassy in Berlin.
- Long lines were seen outside the Russian Embassy in London and other countries where Russian expatriates voted.
- Putin made his first public comments on Navalny’s death, suggesting there had been an idea to exchange him for prisoners in the West.
- Other candidates in the election were present, but no serious challenger to Putin emerged due to the political environment in Russia.
- Opposition figures encouraged a midday flood at polling stations as a symbolic protest against Putin and the current political system.
- The election results are seen as ensuring Putin’s mandate not only for his actions in Ukraine but also for his domestic policies.
- Tributes continue for Alexei Navalny, with people leaving messages and ballot papers bearing his name as a symbol of opposition.
- It is expected that Putin’s fifth term will continue the trend of increasing domestic oppression and confrontation with the West.
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