News - Comment

Putin wins Russian mandate

Although there has been a surge in popular opposition to Putin, nobody seriously expected him to lose the contest, or even to fare poorly enough to necessitate a second round.

POREG VIEW: There was no surprise in the Russian Presidential election in the end. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has won the mandate for the next six years and thus reclaimed Kremlin with a 64 per cent plus vote in Sunday’s election.

Poll outcome shows the former KGB sleuth is seen by most of his compatriots as the leader capable of propelling Russia to its past glory notwithstanding anti-government protests since December, and charges of electoral fraudThe poll outcome shows that the former KGB sleuth is seen by most of his compatriots as the leader capable of propelling Russia to its past glory notwithstanding anti-government protests since December, and charges of electoral fraud.  It also exposes the narrow base of support for the opposition forces that have dominated the anti-government protests of the last two months. Despite widely acknowledged popular discontent over declining living standards, state corruption, and the Kremlin’s authoritarian methods, none of the supposed alternatives to Putin garnered significant electoral support.

In terms of votes cast, the Sunday ballot represented an increase of four percent over the parliamentary contest in December 2011, but a decrease of six percent from the 2008 presidential race. Putin’s nearest rival, the Communist Party boss Gennady Zyuganov, trailed well behind with just over 17 percent of the votes cast. Businessman turned-politician Mikhail Prokhorov came third and maverick ultra-nationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky stood fourth while former upper house speaker Sergei Mironov of the Just Russia party trailed in fifth place with 4.8 percent of votes cast

Putin who will begin his Presidential innings sometime in May celebrated his victory with a hugely attended rally just outside Kremlin.  His supporters filled the square, spilling over into surrounding streets, waving Russian flags and chanting “Putin, Putin!” He later visited his election headquarters and shook hands with, hugged and kissed supporters.

“We have won in an open and honest battle,” Putin said standing on a stage alongside outgoing President Medvedev. “I promised you we would win, we won. Glory to Russia!” he said adding that voters had defeated provocations that aimed “to break up the Russian state and to usurp power.”

However, opposition leaders have denounced the result as fraudulent. “These elections are not free,” insisted Mikhail Kasyanov, a former Putin cabinet member who has since come out against the Kremlin. “We will not accept the president as legitimate,” he promised citing thousands of allegations of vote fraud from various corners of the country. Alexei Navalny, the anti-corruption blogger, who is being widely promoted by the liberal opposition and the Western press, has also denounced the results. He called for an intensification of anti-government protests.

According to the election watchdog Golos, so-called “carouseling”—the bussing of voters from one polling station to the next so they could vote multiple times using absentee ballots—was reported in Moscow, Vladivostok, Voronezh and numerous other cities.  Other complaints include tampering with ballot boxes, the absence of ballot papers, broken surveillance cameras, the removal of observers from polling places, ballot-box stuffing, voting by proxy, and voter harassment.

To an extent, Putin appears to have benefited from the open support of Russia’s liberal opposition for closer relations with Washington, which was the architect of Yeltsin’s free-market policies that had brought more misery to the average Russian.  As the countdown started for the ballot, Putin made calculated appeals to anti-Americanism and justified fears over US meddling in Russia.  But he knows there is no magic wand to address people’s anger over social inequality at home and geopolitical tensions with the United States, which is increasingly guided by its own domestic compulsions.

Although there has been a surge in popular opposition to Putin nobody seriously expected him to lose the contest, or even to fare poorly enough to necessitate a second round.The presidency was his for the taking, and he wasn’t exactly reticent in demanding it back from Dmitry Medvedev, whose role as seat-warmer was fairly obvious from the outset of his presidential term.

The world will be keenly watching Putin’s agenda at home and abroad and the Russian opposition’s fresh campaign to focus on a social-democratic alternative to the sleuth turned ‘saviour’.

Sharing:

Your comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *