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- People urged to turn out as show of opposition support.
- Nationwide turnout surpassed 2018 levels of 67.5%.
- Crowds of hundreds gathered at polling stations.
Russian President Vladmir Putin is all set to tighten his grip on power as he is poised to secure landslide victory in elections amid “Noon against Putin” protests erupted at polling stations on the final day of polling on Sunday.
Putin, who rose to power in 1999, would overtake Josef Stalin and become Russia’s longest-serving leader if he won the new six-year term.
According to CNN, lines at some polling stations in Russia grew suddenly at around 12pm local time Sunday, the hour at which supporters of the deceased opposition leader Alexey Navalny called on people to turn out collectively as a show of opposition support.
Police allowed people in batches through the gates to pass through security, with metal detectors and bags being checked inside the building.
The election comes just over two years since Putin triggered the deadliest European conflict since World War Two by ordering the invasion of Ukraine. He casts it as a “special military operation”.
War has hung over the three-day election: Ukraine has repeatedly attacked oil refineries in Russia, shelled Russian regions and sought to pierce Russian borders with proxy forces — a move Putin said would not be left unpunished.
While Putin’s re-election is not in doubt given his control over Russia and the absence of any real challengers, the former KGB spy wants to show that he has the overwhelming support of Russians. Several hours before polls were due to close at 1800 GMT, the nationwide turnout surpassed 2018 levels of 67.5%.
Reuters journalists saw an increase in the flow of voters, especially younger people, at noon at polling stations in Moscow, St Petersburg, and Yekaterinburg, with queues of several hundred people and even thousands.
Some said they were protesting, though there were few outward signs to distinguish them from ordinary voters.
As noon arrived across Asia and Europe, crowds of hundreds gathered at polling stations at Russian diplomatic missions. Navalny’s widow, Yulia, appeared at the Russian embassy in Berlin to cheers and chants of “Yulia, Yulia”.
Exiled Navalny supporters broadcast footage on YouTube of protests inside Russia and abroad.
— With additional input from Reuters
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