MOSCOW, March 15. /TASS/. The incumbent Russian leader, Vladimir Putin, who is vying for the country’s top office as an independent candidate, has cast his electronic vote in the presidential election.
The published video footage shows Putin walking to a computer in his office, casting his vote and then smiling and waving at the camera. The computer monitor displayed a standard notification for a successfully cast vote.
This is not the first time the president used this voting method. In the last few years, Putin cast his vote online during the autumn single election day. This is the first time online voting is available during presidential elections, (it is currently available in approximately one third of all regions of Russia).
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. 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.