Vladimir Putin to run for 2024 presidential elections as independent candidate

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday presented his candidacy documents to Russia’s Central Election Commission to register for the 2024 presidential election as an independent candidate, ABC News reported.

According to Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, Putin submitted these documents himself. Supporters of Putin have previously nominated him as an independent candidate for the upcoming election.

Under Russian election law, independent candidates must be nominated by a group of at least 500 supporters. Additionally, they need to gather at least 300,000 signatures of support from 40 or more regions.

The group that nominated Putin comprised top officials from the ruling United Russia party, prominent Russian actors and singers, athletes, and other public figures.

Putin has used different tactics over the years to run for office. In 2018, he ran as an independent, and his campaign gathered signatures. In 2012, he ran as a nominee of the Kremlin’s United Russia party, so there was no need for signatures.

Earlier this month, lawmakers in Russia set the country’s 2024 presidential election for March 17, moving Putin a step closer to a fifth term in office.

Putin orchestrated constitutional reforms that make him eligible to seek two more six-year terms after his current term expires next year, potentially allowing him to remain in power until 2036.

Putin’s tight control over Russia’s political system, which he has established during his 24 years in power, makes his reelection in March all but assured.

Prominent critics who could challenge him on the ballot are either in jail or living abroad, and most independent media have been banned.

According to Reuters, the election is a formality for the 71-year-old president: with the support of the state, its media and almost no mainstream public dissent, he is certain to win.

Supporters of Putin say he has restored order, national pride, and some of the clout Russia lost during the chaos of the Soviet collapse and that his war in Ukraine — something Putin calls a “special military operation” — is justified.

A years-long crackdown on opponents and critics bolstered by sweeping new laws on “fake news” and “discrediting the army” has seen critics and opponents of the war handed long jail terms or flee abroad as the room for dissent has steadily shrunk.