Headlines about Russia have been circulating the media non-stop. Constant accusations are present in every aspect. This made their most recent government election one to watch: sparking overall indignation and more accusations concerning its legitimacy all around the globe.
Election day in Russia occurred on March 18. People from all over the country streamed to polling stations to cast their votes. Candidates included previous incumbent Vladimir Putin, along with the most notable opponents being Pavel Grundinin and Vladimir Zhirinovsky. Five others were also included.
As the result of the election showed, nobody even came close to the percentage of votes Putin got, winning reelection for his fourth consecutive term with 76.68 percent of the popular vote. Second came Grundinin with 11.78 percent. Zhirinovsky took third with 5.65 percent of the popular vote. The remaining five candidates rank at the bottom of the list, ranging from around two percent to substantially below one percent.
One possible reason for this extreme result was double voting. Reuters claimed to have photographed multiple people voting twice in different polling stations, potentially increasing the votes for one of the candidates while jokingly commenting: “They might be twins.”
“If these reports from the respected Reuters agency are backed up by corresponding statements to law enforcement agencies from the observers who were at each polling station then it’s a worry,” a Kremlin spokesman responded to the allegations. “If they are not backed up, then it does not worry us at all.”
Since the only information claiming the violation was delivered by Reuters, a real prove to which side is correct can only be decided by one’s own personal opinion. What can’t be denied, are the facts surrounding Putin’s previous years in office, were major steps for maintaining his political power began.
This included the systematic removal of the political opposition, as seen just a couple of weeks before the election, were Russia’s main opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, was formally barred from standing because he was found guilty of embezzlement – a charge he claims was politically motivated.
Apart from that, a minor conflict developed here at home, when President Trump congratulated Putin on his reelection on Twitter, despite warnings from his advisors.
“I called President Putin of Russia to congratulate him on his election victory (in past, Obama called him also). The Fake News Media is crazed because they wanted me to excoriate him,” he said on Twitter, “They are wrong! Getting along with Russia (and others) is a good thing, not a bad thing…….”.
The tweet received mixed feelings, some enraged about the congratulation on a “fraud” election victory, while others looked at it as a glimmer of hope in our scattered world. No matter one’s feelings, Putin while be the leader of Russia until 2024 and one is expected to continuously hear from the largest country in the world.
