On Monday, Russia’s electoral commission announced the president’s investigation Vladimir Putin A “record” victory in the elections that concluded on Sunday, while heads of state rushed to congratulate him while Western leaders denounced what they called “illegitimate” elections.
The head of the Russian Electoral Commission, Ella Pamfilova, explained that this is evidence that the country is united behind President Putin and that he received “about 76 million” votes, representing 87.29%, after 99.76% of the votes were counted.
Pamfilova pointed out that participation in the elections recorded an “unprecedented record” rate of 77.44%. This had never happened before in the history of the new Russia. “We proved to ourselves that we are an independent nation and showed in the face of the West that we are united,” she said.
Today, during a celebration following his election victory, Russian President Putin thanked his supporters, standing alongside the three candidates who ran against him.
Putin said, addressing the crowds during the celebration held on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the annexation of Russia Crimea From Ukraine, “Hand in hand we will move forward,” welcoming the “recovery” of the lands annexed by Moscow from Ukraine.
In turn, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described the election result as exceptionally ideal for President Putin and that it was “the clearest confirmation of the people’s support for their president and their support for his course.”
Messages came from several leaders, especially Putin’s allies, to congratulate him on his election victory. Beijing congratulated the Russian president, saying, “China and Russia are the two largest neighboring countries and are partners in comprehensive strategic cooperation in the new era.”
The Chinese President considered… Xi Jinping Putin’s victory in the presidential elections “fully demonstrates the support of the Russian people” for him, saying, “I believe that under your leadership, Russia will be able to achieve major achievements in national development and reconstruction.”
He also sent the Iranian president Ibrahim Raisi With a congratulatory message to his Russian counterpart on his “decisive victory” and re-election as President of the Russian Federation, according to what was reported by the Iranian “IRNA” agency.
For his part, when the Indian Prime Minister said: Narendra Modi that it He looks forward to working together to strengthen the strategic partnership between India and Russia in the coming years, while Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik stressed that “the Serbian people happily welcomed President Putin’s victory.”
And while Consider the Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro “Our older brother won, which brings good news to the world,” the Cuban president said Miguel Diaz-Canel The official result is “an honest indication that the Russian people support Putin’s management of the country.”
As directed by Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani Emir of Qatar and UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan sent cables of congratulations to President Putin on the occasion of his victory in the presidential elections for a new term.
He congratulated the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad The Russian President said, “I congratulate you on your victory and your re-election as President of the Russian Federation with a large majority, which confirms the Russian people’s high confidence in you, your national policies, and your strategic visions.”
“It’s not a democracy”
On the other hand, the Ukrainian president was accused Volodymyr Zelensky President Putin described him as “obsessed with power and doing his best to rule forever and is prepared for all evil in order to maintain his personal power,” noting that the Russian elections do not have “any legitimacy.”
European Union foreign policy official Josep Borrell also considered that Putin’s re-election as president of Russia took place in elections that were based on “repression and intimidation and were not free or fair.”
For his part, the British Foreign Minister accused David CameronRussian President Putin removed all his rivals from the political arena and completely controlled the media, saying, “This is not democracy.”
Cameron said that Russia “failed” to fulfill its commitment to the principles of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and considered the Russian presidential elections “which took place on Ukrainian territory a violation of the United Nations Charter and Ukraine’s sovereignty.”
While German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock considered that these elections demonstrated “Putin’s disgraceful behavior against his people,” adding, “The elections in Russia were elections without a choice,” the French Foreign Ministry believed that “the conditions for free, pluralistic, and democratic elections” were absent “once again.” In Russia, which has been ruled by Putin for nearly a quarter of a century.
The Italian Foreign Minister was also considered Antonio Taiani The elections “were neither free nor fair,” while Czech Foreign Minister Jan Libavsky described them as a “farce.”
For her part, Moldova’s President Maia Sandu said, “We cannot talk about free and fair elections when real opponents are excluded from the race, some are sent to prison and others are expelled from the country,” while Poland considered the Russian elections “illegal in a climate of severe repression.” Norway said that the Kremlin’s organization of elections in parts of Ukraine represents a “serious violation of international law.”
Earlier on Sunday, thousands of Russian opposition supporters gathered in front of polling stations in several cities as part of a peaceful political movement called “Noon Against Putin.” The Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny whose death was announced last month has announced his support for this move, according to those close to him.
Navalny’s supporters called on voters who oppose Putin and the war on Ukraine to come en masse to the polling stations at noon and cast their votes for one of the three candidates or write anti-Putin slogans on the voting cards.
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