Russian presidential election: Candidates and their programs in brief

Russia is holding its first-ever three-day presidential election on March 15-17. First polling stations opened in the Far East at 23:00 Moscow time. As many as 112.3 million Russians can cast their vote in the election, the Central Electoral Committee said.

Photo: Kremlin.ru by press service of the Russian President, CC BY 4.0

There are four candidates competing for the post of the head of state:

• Vladimir Putin, current president;
• Leonid Slutsky, LDPR leader;
• Nikolai Kharitonov, candidate from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation;
• Vladislav Davankov, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma, New People party.

Vladimir Putin

The sitting head of state, Vladimir Putin, is running for election as a self-nominated candidate. In case of victory, it will be Putin's fifth term. Vladimir Putin first took office as President on March 26, 2000, when Boris Yeltsin resigned.

According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, Putin's election program was announced on February 29, 2024 in his Address to the Federal Assembly. The president then announced the launch of new national projects, changes in economy and social sphere. He also proposed giving graduates an opportunity to retake the Unified State Exam.

Vladislav Davankov

Businessman Vladislav Davankov runs from the New People party. In 2013, the politician became vice president of Faberlic, which was founded by entrepreneur and politician Alexey Nechaev, who later founded the New People party.

In his election program, Davankov focuses on the need to expand civil and business freedoms and struggle against new bans and restrictions. He also advocates the need to strengthen the role of regions in economy and redistribute budget spending for health care and education. As for the ongoing special military operation in Ukraine, Davankov stands for "for peace and negotiations.”

Leonid Slutsky

LDPR leader Leonid Slutsky entered politics in 1988 and received a deputy mandate in 1999. In 2022, after the death of the party founder Vladimir Zhirinovsky, he became his successor. In 2022, he was part of the group for negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, which took place in Istanbul.

Slutsky supports the special military operation and its successful completion with the victory of Russia. In addition, he plans to address issues of demography and migrants and advocates the need to write off debts to regions and redistribute their funding.

Nikolai Kharitonov

Communist Party (CPRF) candidate Nikolai Kharitonov has been a State Duma deputy of all convocations since 1993. In 1999, he was re-elected on the list of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, but joined the party only in 2007. During his time as a deputy, the politician initiated more than 100 bills.

Kharitonov's election program slogan is as follows: "We've played capitalism and that's enough!” The candidate stated the need for changes in socio-economic policy. He also advocates the development of industrial and agriculture and "new industrialisation”.

The 2024 elections are the first in Russian history to be held over the course of three days. Polling stations will be open on March 15, 16 and 17 from 8:00 to 20:00 local time.

According to the head of the Central Election Commission, Ella Pamfilova, more than 94,000 polling stations will be working throughout the country for all three days. Another 2,538 polling stations were organised in places of temporary stay — hospitals, sanatoriums, rest homes, etc.

Remote voting

Residents of 29 regions can vote remotely, but in order to do this they had to submit an application in advance through the Gosuslugi (Public Services) portal. To vote outside of place of registration, one also had to submit an application in advance through the Mobile Voter or Public Services service.

Early voting began on February 26. It was carried out in hard-to-reach and remote places, including ships at sea. As of the morning of March 14, about 2 million voters took part in early voting, including residents of the regions that became part of Russia, Pamfilova said.

Voting in regions living under martial law

The decision to hold voting in regions under martial law — the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), Luhansk People's Republic (LPR), Kherson and Zaporozhye regions — was made by the Central Election Commission after consultations with the FSB and the Ministry of Defence. Lists and addresses of polling stations and information about members of election commissions are not published for the safety of voters.

Residents of the new Russian regions that have not been able to receive the Russian passport in time will be able to vote using their Ukrainian IDs.

In the DPR, elections are held in several formats. In remote areas, early voting began on February 25. Mobile teams of precinct commissions were working from March 10 to 14. Stationary polling stations will be working in the republic during the three voting days.

Residents of rural areas of the Zaporozhye region could vote early until March 14. From March 15 to 16, this opportunity will be available to the urban population. Polling stations will open in the region on March 17.

In the Kherson region, early voting took place from February 27 to March 3. Polling stations in the region will be open during all three election days. Early voting in the LPR also ended on March 14. On March 15 and 16, polling stations in the region will operate as usual. On the last day of voting they will close at 16:00.