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RUSSIA-POLITICS
Russia to hold constitutional reforms vote on July 1
MOSCOW, June 1, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Russian President Vladimir Putin
said Monday that a delayed vote on constitutional reforms allowing him
to potentially stay in power beyond 2024 would be held on July 1.
“We will carry out the national vote on amendments to the
Constitution of the Russian Federation on July 1,” Putin said in a
video call with election officials, after the vote was delayed from
April because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Putin announced a series of surprise constitutional reforms earlier
this year, including a provision that would reset the clock on his
term limits to zero.
This would allow Putin, 67, to run for president again when his
fourth term expires in 2024, and potentially to stay in power until
2036.
A public vote on the reforms had been planned for April 22 but had
to be postponed after Russia saw a surge in coronavirus cases that has
since seen it record the world’s third-highest number of cases.
The rise in infections has been declining in recent days, prompting
Putin to announce an easing of lockdown measures and the rescheduling
of a May 9 Victory Day parade for June 24.
He said last week that Russia had passed the peak of the pandemic
and told officials on Monday that it was time to plan again for the
vote.
“As the situation with the pandemic improves we of course are
returning to normal life, including the need to think about further
work on amendments to the constitution,” Putin said.
He added that officials needed to pay “special attention” to safety
issues in organising the vote, saying public health needed to be the
“first and foremost priority”.
Critics have denounced the constitutional reforms as a power grab by
Putin, 20 years after he first came to power.
Putin served the maximum two consecutive terms between 2000 and 2008
before a four-year stint as prime minister.
He returned to the Kremlin in 2012 for a newly expanded six-year
mandate and was re-elected to a fourth Kremlin term in 2018.
BSS/AFP/MRU/2046hrs