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Photo: Gavriil Grigorov / AP
Ahead of Russia's presidential election expected in March, Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin has tightened the conditions for election coverage. According to a newly published decree, journalists whose media are not registered with the authorities will no longer be allowed to attend meetings of the electoral commission. Only journalists who are "legally entitled to do so" are allowed to take photos and videos at the polling stations.
As a result of the new restrictions, bloggers, independent journalists and employees of Russian media working from exile will be denied access to polling stations. They are prohibited from voting and counting. The decree is also to apply to the Ukrainian regions that Russia declared annexed in violation of international law last year.
The presidential election in Russia is expected to take place in March 2024. According to Russian law, the exact date of the first round must be announced in mid-December. Officially, Putin has not yet announced his candidacy for a fifth term, but there is little doubt that he will run again.
Putin has been in power since 2000. He would not have been allowed to run again in 2024, but a constitutional amendment in 2020 guaranteed him two more six-year terms. This would allow the now 71-year-old to remain in the Kremlin until 2036.
Since the start of the war of aggression against Ukraine in February 2022, Russia has further restricted media freedom and intensified repression against the opposition. Most of Putin's political opponents are in prison or in exile.
czl/AFP