Putin set for big win in election that may extend rule to 2036

Bloomberg

Russian President Vladimir Putin is on course to secure a resounding endorsement of his bid to extend his two-decade-long rule potentially up to 2036, as the Kremlin faces criticism for its heavy-handed efforts to marshal support.
Putin, a former KGB colonel who came to power in 2000, is already the longest-serving Russian leader since Soviet dictator Josef Stalin. The Russian president has proposed a revised constitution that would give him the right to run for two more six-year terms after his current mandate runs out in 2024.
“We’re voting for the country that we’re working for and that we want to hand down to our children and grandchildren,” Putin told Russians in a televised address. Voting began last week and an exit poll by state-run Vtsiom put support for the amendments at 76%. Turnout had already reached 59% on Wednesday, according to the Central Election Commission.
Amid rising public discontent, officials have been pulling out all the stops to ensure a high turnout and resounding approval in a vote Putin wasn’t obliged to call.
While a simple majority in favour and a turnout exceeding 50% of eligible voters is all that’s required, the Kremlin will be satisfied only with an overwhelming endorsement of more than 70% on both measures, according to Alexei Mukhin, head of the Moscow-based Center for Political Information.
“I’m sure that with these numbers, with this turnout, the level of legitimacy of the text of the constitution, the significance of it, will be much higher for all citizens of the country, for all levels of the government,” Senator Andrei Klishas, one of the architects of the plan, told the RIA Novosti news agency.
Putin, 67, is confronting a slump in his approval ratings as Russia’s economy reels under the impact of the coronavirus epidemic and a collapse in oil prices. Once the referendum is out of the way, the Russian president will face the task of navigating through one of the deepest recessions of his time in office.
“This is the most serious challenge the system has faced under Putin,” said Nikolai Petrov, a fellow at London-based Chatham House think tank. Putin’s future depends no longer on his past achievements but on how well he succeeds in getting Russia out of the current crisis, he said.