Overview of the 2024 Russian Presidential Election

So what's new in the 2024 Russian presidential election and what notable faces will it attract?

Mr Putin announced his re-election bid at a meeting to honor servicemen, where he awarded the Hero of Russia medal to those who had distinguished themselves in the military campaign in Ukraine. The Russian president said he had “different thoughts at different times” on the issue, but ultimately decided to run again. “I will run for the presidency of the Russian Federation,” Mr Putin said.

When is the election scheduled to be held?

Russia's Central Election Commission (CEC) has announced that the 2024 presidential election will be held over three days from March 15 to 17. This will be the first time a presidential election has been held over multiple days. However, the "multi-day format" has been used in other elections in Russia after it was first introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The expanded format has proven popular with voters, allowing for higher turnout and less stress for local election commissions, explained CEC Chair Ella Pamfilova. Pamfilova added that keeping polls open for several days has become a “tradition” in the country.

How long has Putin been in power?

Vladimir Putin was elected president of Russia in 2000 and served two four-year terms until 2008. Although presidential terms in the country were not technically limited at the time, an individual could only serve two consecutive terms.

Mr Putin then became prime minister under Dmitry Medvedev, who served as president of Russia from 2008 to 2012. Under Medvedev, the presidential term was extended to six years.

Mr Putin returned to the presidency of Russia in 2012 and is currently serving a second six-year term after being re-elected in 2018.

Constitutional change

The length of time the Russian president can hold office was reformed in a major constitutional reform implemented in 2020. Under the amendments, the rule of two consecutive presidential terms for one person was abolished and a hard limit of two six-year terms was introduced.

However, under an amendment drafted by prominent lawmaker Valentina Tereshkova, a former cosmonaut, President Putin's terms before the constitutional amendments were "nullified", allowing him to run for re-election in 2024 – and also in 2030 – if he wishes to do so.

Notable Candidates

Several public figures and politicians have announced their intention to run for president of Russia next year. Independent candidates must collect at least 300,000 signatures from supporters to file, while those nominated by parties must collect at least 100,000 signatures. Candidates nominated by parties represented in the Russian parliament are exempt from the signature-gathering requirement.

The list of notable faces includes several progressive figures, namely Ekaterina Duntsova, a journalist and former local lawmaker in the Rzhev region; longtime opposition figure Boris Nadezhdin, a former lawmaker and now a regional lawmaker supported by the center-right Civic Initiative party; as well as Sergey Lipatov, a lawyer and activist. All three have been critical of Russian government policies, including the military campaign in Ukraine.

In addition, Igor Girkin (also known as Igor Strelkov), a former field commander who briefly served as defense chief in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic during the conflict in Donbas, Ukraine, has also announced his intention to run. Girkin is a controversial figure who has been a vocal critic of the military campaign in Ukraine, though more about its execution than its substance. He was arrested earlier this year on charges of making public calls for extremist activities. Whether he will be able to run for president in 2024 remains unclear.

Anatoly Rabinovich, a lesser-known politician and public figure, has also announced his intention to run for president, declaring his bid a “test of tolerance” for Russians. While expressing confidence that Mr Putin will win, Rabinovich said that if a candidate in his 40s wins around 20% of the vote, it would be a major victory for the country’s opposition. However, this would only be possible if the opposition could produce a single candidate, Mr Rabinovich warned last month.

However, according to observers, Russia still has no bright face that can compete with the current President Putin. Mr. Putin won the presidential election in 2000 with 53.0% of the vote, then this rate increased sharply in the 2004 election with 71.3% of the vote. After a one-term gap, Mr. Putin returned to the Kremlin thanks to a victory with 63.6% of the vote in the presidential election in 2012 and 76.7% in 2018.