The President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, re-elected for another six years in the Kremlin, warned that Russia will not be intimidated by its opponents.
The leader of the Kremlin (Presidency), in power for almost a quarter of a century, obtained more than 87% of the votes, when more than 99% of the tables were counted, according to the official Russian agency Ria Novosti, which cited the electoral commission.
This was Putin’s best result ever in an election in which the opposition was excluded, wrote the agency France-Presse (AFP).
Addressing the Russians late Sunday night, the leader thanked everyone who went to the polls and helped create the conditions for “internal political consolidation”, two years following the start of the attack on Ukraine and the adoption of sanctions unprecedented in the West.
“I would like to thank each and every citizen of the country for your support and trust”, he told the campaign team. He stressed that no matter who wants to intimidate us or how much, no matter who wants to crush us or how much (…), no one has ever managed to do anything like that in history. It didn’t work today and it won’t work in the future.”
The three candidates defeated by Vladimir Putin in the race for President of Russia recognized on Sunday the victory of the current head of state when 52% of ballots had been counted.
The Opposition was prevented from running and organizing rallies, as the Central Election Commission did not register its candidates who supported the withdrawal of troops from Ukraine, for technical reasons or formal irregularities, EFE wrote.
The three days of elections, which took place between Friday and Sunday, were marked by deadly Ukrainian shelling and incursions by armed fighters claiming to be pro-Ukrainian Russians in Russia’s border regions, as well as protests at polling stations.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described Putin as a man “drunk with power” with the intention of “ruling forever”.
British Foreign Minister David Cameron lamented the lack of “free and fair” elections in Russia, and the United States criticized the elections held in Ukrainian territories occupied by Moscow. On the other hand, the leaders of Venezuela, Cuba and Bolivia congratulated Putin on his re-election.
Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro sent “congratulations to the brotherly people of Russia and to President Vladimir Putin for the extraordinary victory”.
For his part, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel expressed “sincere congratulations on Putin’s re-election”, a result that “is a clear sign of the Russian people’s recognition of his administration”.
Luis Arce, President of Bolivia, sent his “most sincere congratulations to brother Putin”, re-elected “with a resounding victory that reaffirms the unity of the courageous people around their sovereignty and constant development”.
