Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Watch: Russians head to polls on final voting day of presidential election

Lucy Leeson
Monday 18 March 2024 02:31 EDT
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Watch as Russians went to polling booths on the final voting day of the country’s presidential election on Sunday (17 March).

The sham election confirmed Vladimir Putin’s fifth term of presidency, set to last for at least another six years.

It was a stage-managed vote that took place in parts of Ukraine now controlled by Russian forces.

Russia’s population is around 143.4 million. 112.3 million people have the right to vote in the election and around 70-80 million people usually cast ballots.

Putin has also been shown appearing to vote online in the Russian election, in a new video released by the Kremlin.

The video, released on Friday (15 March), showed Putin voting on the first of three presidential election days in Russia.

Russian authorities promoted online voting since the beginning of the pandemic, but critics panned it as an attempt to obscure real voting data.

Putin, 71, faced little competition; his opponents are either in jail or in exile abroad, and the most prominent - Alexei Navalny - died in a remote Arctic penal colony last month.

Three other candidates were low-profile politicians from token opposition parties that abide by the Kremlin’s line.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in