Putin Registers as Candidate for Next Russian Presidential Election... Aiming for Fifth Term

Russian Presidential Election to be Held March 15-17
315,000 Voters Submit Support Signatures

Russian President Vladimir Putin has officially registered as a candidate for the upcoming presidential election.

Vladimir Putin, President of Russia [Photo by Yonhap News]

The Central Election Commission of Russia announced on the 29th (local time) that President Putin has been officially registered as a candidate for the presidential election to be held from March 15 to 17.

According to TASS news agency and others, Ella Pamfilova, Chairwoman of the Central Election Commission of Russia, said, "We unanimously decided to register Putin as a candidate for the President of the Russian Federation election."

President Putin submitted signatures of support from 315,000 voters on the 22nd to register as an independent candidate. In Russia, to become an independent presidential candidate, one must submit between 300,000 and 315,000 signatures of support from 40 regions nationwide.

The Election Commission explained that after verifying 60,000 of the signatures submitted by Putin's campaign, 91 (0.15%) were found to be inaccurate and invalidated. However, the remaining 314,909 signatures were deemed valid.

Putin, who assumed acting president at the end of 1999 following the resignation of former President Boris Yeltsin, won the presidential elections in 2000 and 2004. Except for the period from 2008 to 2012 when he served as Prime Minister, he has continued his rule for four terms. If elected for a fifth term in this election, he could extend his administration until 2030.

With Putin’s re-election considered highly likely, the Election Commission plans to finalize the list of candidates by the 10th of next month.