Russian lawmakers on Thursday set the date of the country’s 2024 presidential election for March 17, moving Vladimir Putin a step closer to a fifth term in office.
Members of the Federation Council, Russia’s upper house of parliament, voted unanimously to approve a decree setting the date.
“In essence, this decision marks the start of the election campaign,” said Valentina Matviyenko, speaker of the Federation Council. Russia’s central election commission is to hold a meeting on the presidential campaign on Friday.
Putin, 71, hasn’t yet announced his intention to run again, but is widely expected to do so in the coming days now that the date has been set.
Under constitutional reforms he orchestrated, he is eligible to seek two more six-year terms after his current one expires next year, potentially allowing him to remain in power until 2036.
Having established tight control over Russia’s political system, Putin’s victory in the March election is all but assured. Prominent critics who could challenge him on the ballot are either in jail or living abroad, and most independent media have been banned.
Neither the costly, drawn-out war in Ukraine, nor a failed rebellion last summer by mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin appear to have affected his high approval ratings reported by independent pollsters.
