Early voting for Russian presidential election kicks off in several regions

According to the rules, regions may launch the early voting period after February 25, but it must be completed by March 14.

Russia’s Central Election Commission told TASS news agency that in the previous presidential election in 2018, around 180,000 people voted early, and 31,000 people voted at polling stations on ships at sea.

Voting has already started in Zaporozhye Region for people who live near the front line. In Kherson Region, early voting will start on Tuesday, and in the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, it will begin on March 10 and 11. These four former Ukrainian territories all voted to become part of Russia in referendums in 2022.

The main voting period for the 2024 presidential election will be from March 15-17. This is the first time a presidential election will be held over multiple days in the country. This format has been used in other elections in Russia after it was first introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Four people have been approved by the commission to run for president: Vladislav Davankov of the New People party, the current president, Vladimir Putin, who is running as an independent and is the frontrunner, Leonid Slutsky of the nationalist LDPR party, and Nikolay Kharitonov of the Communist Party.