MOSCOW, March 12. /TASS/. Attempts by unfriendly countries to call into question the legitimacy of Russia’s presidential election come as no surprise, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
"It was clear that more and more attempts would be made [ahead of the vote] to somehow question the legitimacy of our electoral process, target our new regions and, consequently, call into question the legitimacy of elections there. This comes as no surprise, so we need to be consistent and resilient, and, most importantly, we need to be guided by our own interests and the will that voters will express on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. This is what is going to be the main thing for us," Peskov stressed.
However, in Peskov’s words, it’s hardly possible to stop these manifestations of Russophobia in unfriendly countries.
The Russian Federation Council, or upper house of parliament, officially designated March 17, 2024 as the day of the presidential election. The Russian Central Election Commission (CEC) then announced that voting will take place over three days on March 15-17, making it Russia’s first three-day presidential election. Four candidates will vie for the top office, namely New People party nominee Vladislav Davankov; self-nominated candidate and incumbent President Vladimir Putin; Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) nominee Leonid Slutsky; and Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) nominee Nikolay Kharitonov.
The upcoming presidential election will also be the first time that voters will have the option of casting their ballots electronically, with online voting available in 29 regions, including Moscow, comprising one-third of the country’s constituent regions. Voters were able to submit applications to cast their ballots online from January 29 through March 11.