According to the latest data, the turnout was 65%
TIRANA – The constitutional amendments have been supported by 77.92% of Russians who took part in the nationwide vote, the Central Election Commission (CEC) said after counting 100% of ballots in Moscow on Thursday.
According to the election commission quoted by TASS, 21.27% of voters were opposed to the amendments. According to the latest data, the turnout was 65%.
The nationwide vote on the constitutional amendments ended in Russia at 21:00 Moscow time on Wednesday. The official voting day under the presidential decree was July 1, but due to the coronavirus situation the voting period was extended for a week, from June 25 through July 1. Vote counting began in regions after 20:00 local time on July 1, when polling stations closed.
The amendments will come into force if supported by more than one half of those who took part in the vote. There is no minimum voter turnout.
In its report on Thursday under the headline ‘Putin strongly backed in controversial Russian reform vote’ BBC said the reforms will reset Mr. Putin’s term limits to zero in 2024, allowing him to serve two more six-year terms.
Opposition figures denounced the vote, saying he was aiming to be “president for life”, a claim Mr. Putin denies. He is already the longest-serving leader in modern Russian history since Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin. There was no independent scrutiny of the seven-day vote, and copies of the new constitution appeared in bookshops during the week.
By spreading out the vote, because of the coronavirus infection risk, the authorities made any monitoring of it more difficult.
Twelve of the 20 people we spoke to at one city-centre polling station were fed up with the “eternal rule” of their president. One woman called this a “sad day for democracy and liberal values”; another wanted an extra tick-box on the ballot paper so she could vote not just “against” but “categorically opposed”.
Other Muscovites said they were drawn to the poll by the patriotic wrapping around the one central reform for the Kremlin. Voting never to relinquish control of Crimea, for example, and to protect Russia’s “historical truth”, they were also happy with Vladimir Putin staying on in power.
As one older man put it – if the captain of a ship is steering the right course, why change him? The preliminary count suggests the majority of people voting this week agree./argumentum.al
