MOSCOW, December 26. /TASS/. Russia must hold its presidential election as it will give the country’s citizenry the opportunity to demonstrate their power, maturity and unity, and will help repudiate aggressive pressure coming from unfriendly outside actors, Central Election Commission (CEC) Chairwoman Ella Pamfilova said in an interview with TASS.

When asked whether holding the presidential vote next year would be appropriate under current circumstances, the elections chief said: "One can always find a pretext to say that now is not the time to hold elections, which is what a number of countries do to dismiss such elections as inconvenient."

"I believe that now as never before is the time to make the choice and hold the [presidential] election. Because people feel the need to demonstrate their power, maturity and unity on a number of key issues that are directly related to the future destiny of the country," Pamfilova emphasized. According to her, against the backdrop of external aggression, holding the presidential election in March 2024 will serve as "additional grounds for effectively repudiating [such malevolent outside pressure] through citizen-based, civilized and electoral means [that express the popular will of the Russian people].".