Official Declaration of Candidacy 100 Days Before March Presidential Election
"78.5% of Russian People Trust Putin"
Russian President Vladimir Putin officially announced his candidacy for next year's presidential election on the 8th (local time).
On the same day, President Putin revealed his plan to run in the presidential election scheduled for March next year, which is 100 days away, during an informal conversation with soldiers participating in the "special military operation" at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, according to Sputnik News.
The day before, the Russian Federation Council confirmed the presidential election date as March 17 next year. The Russian Central Election Commission decided to hold the presidential election voting over three days from March 15 to 17 next year. Due to Russia's vast territory, multi-day elections are often held.
Since assuming the role of acting president on December 31, 1999, following the resignation of former President Boris Yeltsin, President Putin has maintained actual power as either president or prime minister. If he succeeds in his re-election next year, he will extend his term by six more years until 2030.
He opened the path to serve two more six-year presidential terms through the 2020 constitutional amendment, meaning he could remain in power until 2036, when he turns 84.
On the same day, the Russian Public Opinion Research Center VTsIOM reported that public trust in President Putin remained at 78.5%, the same as last week.
The survey was conducted from the 27th of last month to the 3rd of this month, targeting 1,600 adults residing in Russia. The approval rating for President Putin's governance rose by 0.6 percentage points from last week to 75.8%.
The Russian government's job approval rating was 51.4%, and Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin's job approval rating was 53.3%. Trust in Prime Minister Mishustin was recorded at 61.9%.
Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin spokesperson, said in a briefing before President Putin's candidacy announcement, "Many are urging President Putin to run in the election again."
Earlier, he declared, "If President Putin decides to run, there will be no one who can compete with him."
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