Participation at polling stations increased yesterday until noon in several cities in Russia, when a protest against Russian President Vladimir Putin took place, according to the international press
According to the EFE news agency, the number of voters increased significantly in Moscow until 12:00 (local time), the time set by the opposition for people to go to the voting centers to demonstrate their rejection of Putin.
The Russian President is running in these elections for his fifth term as head of state of Russia.
The election is expected to keep Putin in power until 2030, the year in which he will turn 77, with the possibility of an additional term until 2036, due to a constitutional change made in 2020.
Muscovites formed long queues in front of schools under the watchful eye of security officers, who, however, did not intervene to prevent the protest action, despite warnings from the Public Prosecutor’s Office about the prohibition of participating in gatherings on the third day of the elections , which started on Friday.
This increase in electoral participation also occurred in other Russian cities, as well as in the country’s embassies abroad, according to EFE.
The “Noon against Putin” demonstration was supported in February by the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny, shortly before his death under strange circumstances in prison.
This protest action also encouraged its participants to boycott the election, vote for any candidate other than the Russian president or destroy the ballot paper.
In addition to receiving support from almost the entire opposition in exile, such as tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the action was also supported by opponents within Russia, such as Yekaterina Duntsova – who tried to run in the presidential elections, but failed to obtain approval from the electoral commission. .
The pacifist politician Boris Nadezhdin, who was vetoed by the Russian electoral authorities, also supported the opposition’s protest yesterday and assured that “the Russian people today have [ontem] the opportunity to show your position on what is happening by voting not for Putin, but for someone else.”
In an attempt to thwart the opposition’s plans, the Russian Prosecutor’s Office stated that appealing or participating in such actions could lead to prison sentences for obstructing the electoral process.
So far, no arrests have been reported due to participation in the “Noon Against Putin” action.