President Putin may run as an independent candidate

Russian news agencies reported on December 16 that a group of President Putin's supporters - including more than 700 politicians and famous figures in the world of sports and culture - met at the Zaryadye Hall in Moscow on the same day. They came to the conclusion that they unanimously approved the nomination of Mr. Putin as an independent candidate. The Russian leader himself did not attend the meeting.

Russian law requires a person to receive the support of a group of at least 500 people to run as an independent.

Mr Putin has run for president four times, three of them as an independent. The only exception was in 2012, when he was nominated by the Water UR party. Last week, the 71-year-old announced he would run for another six-year term in the March 2024 election, and he is widely expected to win.

Andrei Turchak, a senior United Russia (UR) party official, said Putin would not run as a candidate for the ruling party despite its full support. He noted that President Putin was one of the founders of UR.

“More than 3.5 million party members and supporters will actively participate in the election campaign,” RIA news agency quoted Mr. Turchak as saying, stressing that the election committee will be formed immediately after the nomination procedure is completed.

Supporters praise President Vladimir Putin for restoring order, national pride and influence that Russia lost during the chaos of the Soviet Union's collapse, and they see Russia's extraordinary military campaign in Ukraine as justified.

The presidential election in Russia will be held on March 15-17, 2024, and the inauguration will take place in early May. 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 register, 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 collection requirement.

Mr Putin’s rivals in the upcoming election could include Gennady Zyuganov, the longtime Communist Party leader, while other parties, including the Liberal Democratic Party and People’s New Party, have also signalled plans to field candidates.

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.