Putin closes in on fifth term as Russian lawmakers set date for 2024 presidential election

Russian lawmakers on Thursday (Dec 7) moved Vladimir Putin a step closer to a fifth term in office as they set the date of the country's 2024 presidential election for March 17. A decree to approve the date was voted unanimously by the members of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly.

Valentina Matviyenko, who is the head of the chamber, said "With this decision, we are effectively launching the start of the election campaign."

Matviyenko further added that residents of the parts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Kherson regions of Ukraine, which were annexed by Russia, would take part in the vote for the first time.

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She said, "By choosing a head of state together, we fully share the common responsibility and common destiny of our fatherland."

It is widely expected that Putin will take office for the fifth time, however, he hasn't announced his intention to run again yet.

Notably, in 2020, Putin made sure that he remains eligible to seek two more six-year terms after some constitutional reforms, which allowedhim to remain in power until 2036.

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Will Putin win?

In the election scheduled for March, Putin's victory is assured as he has established tight control over Russia's political system.

In a way, he is running uncontested as some of his critics who could challenge him on the ballot are either in jail or living abroad. Most of the independent media have been banned in the country.

The point was raised by Putin's staunch critic Alexei Navalny, currently in jail, who wrote a statement, urging his supporters to vote for anyone but Putin.

"Putin views this election as a referendum on approval of his actions. A referendum on approval of the war. Let’s disrupt his plans and make it happen so that no one on March 17 is interested in the rigged result, but that all of Russia saw and understood: the will of the majority is that Putin must leave," read the statement byNavalny.

So far, two people have announced plans to run for the post. Former lawmaker Boris Nadezhdin and Yekaterina Duntsova. '

Nadezhdin holds a seat on a municipal council in the Moscow region and Duntsova is a journalist and lawyer from the Tver region north of Moscow.