Summary
President Vladimir Putin wins a fifth term during the 2024 Russian presidential elections.
Putin, running as an Independent candidate, captured just over 56 million votes. This resulted in an 88 per cent share of the vote. This is a significant landslide for any candidate in the eight Russian presidential election.
As Putin has won a record-breaking fifth term, he shall serve as president of Russia for six years until 2030. Putin, who has had continuous positions as president or prime minister since 1999, is now the longest-serving Russian leader since Joseph Stalin. Stalin served as Russian leader for 29 years between 1924 to 1953.
Putin, 71, said that the main challenges facing Russia in the next six years will be “achieving the goals of the special operation [the Russian invasion of Ukraine] and strengthening our defence capacity and armed forces”.
Voting for the Russian presidential election has been held in the Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine. These are: Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Donetsk, Luhansk and Crimea- a first in Russian politics.
The turnout for the Russian presidential election was over 70 per cent, according to the Russian electoral commission.
The other candidates
Nikolay Mikhailovich Kharitonov, 75, ran as the Communist party candidate. Kharitonov received only 2.7 million votes and a mere 4.28 per cent share of the vote.
Vladislav Andreyevich Davankov, 40, ran as the New People party candidate. He received 2.6 million votes and 4.1 per cent share of the vote.
Leonid Eduardovich Slutsky, 56, ran as the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) candidate. Slutsky received just over 2 million votes and a 3.2 per cent share of the vote.
Speech made by President Putin
In a speech, Putin said: “I would like to thank the citizens of Russia. We are all one team. I would like to thank all citizens of Russia who came to the polling stations and voted.
“The source of power in this country is the Russian people. The votes of all the citizens of Russia express the united will of the Russian Federation. This is one of the bases for Russian development in the field of defence, in the field of science and education.
“I would especially like to express my gratitude to the military, people on the front line who are ensuring the conditions for our country to exist in the future. They are risking their life and health by fulfilling this mission of defending our country and defending the historical territories of Russia.
“Of course, we have a lot of things to resolve in the future but when we are united, I think it is clear to everyone, that whoever wants to threaten or bully us or suppress our will, they were not successful in the past and they will not be successful in the future.
“The results of the elections are just an expression of trust of people and their hope that we will do everything according to our plans. I would like to thank all citizens of Russia for this trust and this support.”
President Putin is scheduled to be inaugurated on May 7 2024.
Featured Image credit: Pexels photos.
I am a third-year Politics and Journalism Studies student at the University of Stirling (2022-) and a writer and sub-editor for the Brig for over a year (Nov. 2023-), focusing mainly on political topics.
