President Vladimir Putin sailed to a landslide victory in Russia's election with a record number of votes, officials said, meaning the leader will have at least six more years in office.
Russia’s Central Election Commission said Monday that with all precincts counted, Putin secured 87.29 of the vote, though he did not face any serious opposition. As CNBC reported, “Anti-war candidates were barred from the election and most Russian opposition figures are either in self-imposed exile, have been imprisoned, or killed in Russia…”
The results of the presidential elections after 100% of the ballots have been counted pic.twitter.com/c7iEpzI4cm
— Sputnik (@SputnikInt) March 18, 2024
Putin said the results showed citizens’ “trust” and “hope” in him.
"Of course, we have lots of tasks ahead. But I want to make it clear for everyone: When we were consolidated, no one has ever managed to frighten us, to suppress our will and our self-conscience. They failed in the past and they will fail in the future," Putin said early Monday.
If Putin, 71, carries out the full term, he will be the longest serving Russian leader since Catherine the Great.
At his campaign headquarters, Putin spoke for the first time about opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s death, calling it a “sad event.”
“As for Mr. Navalny. He has perished, this is always a sad event,” he told an NBC journalist. “Well, we have had other instances when people died in prison. Has nothing like that ever happened in the U.S.? It has happened, and not once.”
He continued: “By the way, this will be unexpected but several days before Mr Navalny perished, I was told by some of my colleagues and the administration employees, some people, that there is an idea to exchange Mr Navalny for some people in prison in Western countries. Believe me or not, the person talking to me hardly finished their sentence when I said: ‘I agree!’
“But unfortunately, the thing that happened happened,” Putin said. “Such things happen, you can’t do anything about it. This is life.”