MOSCOW | The Russians are due to approve on Wednesday a vast constitutional reform initiated by Vladimir Putin officially to organize the future of the country, but which the opposition sees above all as a means of perpetuating its hold on Russia.
This vote, originally scheduled for April, was postponed due to the coronavirus epidemic. To avoid excessive crowds at the polling stations, the ballot was spread over a week. Disinfectant masks, gloves and gels are made available to voters.
The first results are expected after 6 p.m. GMT.
There is hardly any doubt as to the outcome of the vote: the reforms were approved by the legislator at the start of the year, and the new text of the Constitution is already on sale in bookstores.
Vladimir Putin addressed 110 million voters on Tuesday to call on them to guarantee “stability, security and prosperity” in a country he claims to have emerged from the chaos that followed the fall of the USSR.
In June, he had deemed necessary the amendment granting him the right to two additional mandates at the end of the current one in 2024, because Russia had to “work” and not get lost in “a quest for potential successors”.
God, marriage, retirement
This change would allow him to stay in the Kremlin until 2036, the year of his 84th birthday. Other reforms also strengthen certain presidential prerogatives.
The reform introduced into the Constitution a number of conservative principles dear to the president – Faith in God, marriage reserved for heterosexuals, patriotic education -, as well as social guarantees, such as indexation of pensions or a minimum wage above the subsistence level.
Critics of the Kremlin, notably the opponent Alexei Navalny, believe that the referendum has no other purpose than to guarantee it “a presidency for life” and that the other measures aim to bring the Russians to the polls.
Among the voters of Vladivostok, in the Far East, questioned by AFP, the question of presidential terms divides.
Oleg Doubov, a 55-year-old engineer, notes that “there must (be) a change, even if I respect and appreciate it as president.” As for the other measures, “almost all of them could have been enshrined in law, without amending the Constitution,” he laments.
Conversely, Valentina Koungourtseva, retired 79 years, is delighted: “For us retirees, it is important, every year our pension will be increased (…) that’s why I came” . As for Mr. Poutine in power: “as long as we have a good president, life will be good”.
The vote comes as the popularity of the Russian president fell in the wake of a much-criticized pension reform and the coronavirus crisis. From May 2018 to June 2020, its approval rate measured by the independent Levada institute increased from 79% to 60%.
According to Kremlin critics, the authorities have multiplied the tricks to ensure resounding success and strong participation on Wednesday.
Tailor-made success
The most unusual aspect was the installation of makeshift polling stations outside, in the courtyards, sports or playgrounds, without much respect for the secrecy of the vote or adequate surveillance of the ballot boxes.
The aim of the maneuver, according to the opposition, is not to protect the electorate from the coronavirus, but to produce a tailor-made result.
“When the Constitution is voted on a tree stump or in the trunk of a car, it does not seem serious,” admitted to AFP on condition of anonymity the assessor of a polling station in northwest Russia.
The NGO specializing in electoral observation Golos, hated by the authorities, also denounced hierarchical pressure on officials and employees to go and vote.
She also exposed huge differences in voter turnout from one region to another.
“Such discrepancies can only be explained by the fact that citizens are forced to the polls in certain regions or by direct falsifications,” the NGO said on Tuesday.
Asked about the subject, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov spoke of “isolated problems” which “do not threaten the credibility” of the ballot.
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