ANS: Voting for the presidential election begins in Russia today, on 15 March. The three-day polling process was initiated in the nation’s easternmost regions, Chukotka and Kamchatka, this morning.
Kamchatka Governor Vladimir Solodov was among the first regional leaders to cast his vote. Voting is scheduled to conclude at 11:30 PM Indian time on Sunday in Kaliningrad, a Russian exclave bordering Poland and Lithuania.
Meanwhile, experts predict that the election will extend President Putin’s rule for another six years. President Putin has urged the people of Russia to exercise their right to vote.
Citizens across Russia are participating in the election to select their president for the upcoming six years. Notably, this election introduces online voting for the first time, available in 27 Russian regions, Crimea, Donbass, and Novorossiya—territories annexed by Moscow from Ukraine.
For the first time, residents of Donbas and Novorossia are participating in the Russian presidential election. Polls have already opened in Russian-occupied Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia.
The 2024 election features several candidates vying for the top state post, including Russia’s incumbent President Vladimir Putin, Vladislav Davankov of the New People’s Party, Leonid Slutsky of the LDPR party, and Nikolay Kharitonov of the Communist Party of Russia.