Russia's upper house of parliament has voted to hold the 2024 presidential election onMarch 17, when Vladimir Putin is expected to seek a fifth term as president.
Putin hasn't yet announced his intention to run again, but he is widely expected to do so in the coming days now that the date has been set.
Putin, 71, has been in power as Russia's president or prime minister since the last day of 1999, when Boris Yeltsin stepped down and made him acting president.
Under constitutional reforms he orchestrated, Putin is eligible to seek two more six-year terms after his current one expires next year.
Having established tight control over Russia's political system, Putin's victory is all but assured. Prominent critics who could challenge him on the ballot are either in jail or living abroad, and most independent media have been banned.
Neither the costly, drawn-out military campaign in Ukraine, nor a failed rebellion last summer by mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin appear to have affected his high approval ratings reported by independent pollsters.
The March election clears the way for him to remain in power at least until 2030.
10°C