Vladimir Putin has said he will run for president in the March 2024 election, moving the longtime Russian leader a step closer to a fifth term in office.
The announcement on Friday was widely expected and there is little question about the outcome.
Putin has dominated Russia’s political system and the media for the past two decades, jailing prominent opposition politicians, such as Alexei Navalny and Ilya Yashin, who could challenge him on the ballot. Putin has won previous elections by a landslide, but independent election watchdogs say they were marred by widespread fraud.
Putin’s long-term spokesperson in a previous interview said: “Putin will be re-elected next year with more than 90% of the vote”.
Actually now that I think about it there is a old sci-fi book from the 50/60s which this is sort of the plot. It is called Double Star and it is about a body double getting recurred to stand in for a dead politician to calm political waves. For him to only stay in politics and take over.
That’s also the plot of the movie Dave.