Russia's presidential election: absence of real opposition amid coercion and speculation

In Russia, polling stations opened on Friday for the three-day presidential elections, which, in the absence of real opposition, will allow Vladimir Putin to remain in the Kremlin for at least another 6 years. State media has already reported record voter turnout in the Far East on the first day of the electoral process. Notably, a significant portion of voters cast their ballots electronically.

Apart from the incumbent president, who has been in power for a quarter of a century, the list includes three other candidates: Vladislav Davankov from the "New People" party, communist Nikolai Kharitonov, and Leonid Slutsky, who inherited the LDPR from Vladimir Zhirinovsky. These are low-profile politicians from formally opposition parties who neither oppose the war in Ukraine nor the repression that has led to the expulsion or imprisonment of opposition figures and human rights defenders.

Despite the predetermined outcome of the elections, candidates from non-parliamentary parties and self-nominees (aside from Putin) were denied registration: Boris Nadezhdin's signatures were rejected by the Central Election Commission, and journalist Ekaterina Duntsova was not allowed to collect signatures.

Officials responsible for the war against Ukraine have already cast their votes at polling stations. Defense Minister Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff Gerasimov, who disappeared from the public eye for several weeks, have already voted in the Southern Military District.

The publication "Important Stories" reports that civil servants and employees of state-owned companies are being forced to vote in the first two days of the elections. In Kamchatka, public sector employees are compelled to vote on Friday so they can "rest and attend to their own affairs" on the weekend, according to the SOTA Telegram channel. Perhaps this is related to the Sunday event "Noon Against Putin," promoted by part of the Russian opposition from abroad.

The call to go to polling stations on the last day of the elections became the last political statement by opposition leader Alexei Navalny before his death in prison. According to Navalny and his associates, the essence of the action is to allow people to see like-minded individuals speaking out against Putin and the war. "If we come together at the same time, our voice will be louder," said Yulia Navalnaya in a video message published on March 6th.

However, it is unknown whether going to the polling stations at 12:00 on Sunday will be safe. The Moscow prosecutor's office has already threatened participants of "unauthorized mass events" with criminal charges of obstructing the elections.

Reports are coming in that observers from public chambers are being taught how to distinguish participants of "Noon Against Putin" from other "random" voters. Among the possible criteria for protest voting, according to the authorities, are pacifist symbolism and "nervous behavior at the sight of police officers."