On July 1, the people of Russia voted in a referendum that would allow president Vladimir Putin to remain in power till 2036. This is the first constitutional amendment in Russia, in over three decades.
Prior to this vote, amendments to the constitutions had already been signed by the Russian parliament weeks ago. The referendum was held on the request of President Putin, to give the constitutional changes more legitimacy and to avoid the appearance of an illegitimate power-grab. This amendment means he will be spending two more six-year terms as head of government of Russia, after 2024 when his presidency is meant to end.
On Thursday, the Russian Electoral Commission announced that over 78% of voters, with a 65% turnout, approved of this extension of power. Voters were asked to vote yes or no on a single package of over 200 new amendments, including a provision for a former or sitting president to run for office regardless of how many terms they held previously, a ban on same-sex marriage, measures to prevent senior officials from holding foreign passports or bank accounts, and a move to constitutionally enshrine the “historical truth” of World War II and a provision that prevents the surrender of any Russian territory.
For the opposition, it is an illegal takeover. Alexei Navalny a leading opposition figure and staunch critic of Putin had this to say: “This vote is a forgery, but above all, it is a public declaration of what is happening in the country: Vladimir Putin, together with a group of his corrupt friends and colleagues, has illegally taken power and wants to remain Russia’s leader for life,” Navalny protested. Golos, an independent Russian election monitoring group, released a statement about the vote, alleging there were many violations of democracy and cited irregularities like ballot box stuffing, illegal campaigning, abuse of power by the electoral commission, and irregular voter turnout.
Vladimir Putin has been in power in Russia, as president and prime minister, for 20 years. He is now on his way to becoming Russia’s longest-serving ruler.
