By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Russia will go to the polls on Thursday, March 17, 2024 to elect a new President and members of Upper House of Parliament, an election in which longtime leader of the country, Vladimir Putin is widely expected to seek a re-run.
This comes two years after Moscow launched what it calls special military operation in Ukraine February 2022.
Moscow later annexed the Ukrainian regions of Lugansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia into Russian territory.
In a meeting televised live, the senators unanimously adopted the March election date in a decision that “practically kicks off the presidential campaign”, the head of the Senate chamber, Valentina Matvienko said
Putin has been in power in Russia both as President and Prime Minister since 2000.
He has not publicly declared his intention to contest in the election, but a vast majority of Russians believe he would join in the presidential race.
The election “will be a sort of culmination of reunification” for the regions, Matvienko said.
