The Kremlin assessed the likely outcome of the election

Peskov: if Putin goes to the polls, there will be no one to compete with him

The president "enjoys the absolute support of the population," Peskov said, speaking about the upcoming presidential elections. Putin has not yet announced his participation in them, but noted that "formally, there is permission from the people"

Russian President Vladimir Putin has not yet announced his participation in the elections, but it is obvious that no one will be able to compete if he is nominated, said Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary of the head of state, in an interview with RBC.

"The President has not yet announced that he will nominate his candidacy. If we assume that the president will still nominate his candidacy, then it is obvious that no one can really compete with the president in our country at the current stage," Peskov said.

He added that Putin "enjoys the absolute support of the population." "This is a great opportunity and a great responsibility," the spokesman said.

The Russian presidential election is due to take place in March 2024. In 2020, the Constitution of Russia was amended. According to them, the same person cannot hold the post of head of state for more than two terms (previously there were "more than two consecutive terms"). At the same time, the amendments reset the deadlines for the current president and his predecessors.

For Putin, the current term is already the fourth in a row. He has not yet announced his participation in the elections, but noted that in connection with the adopted amendments, he has the opportunity to run. "I have not yet made a decision for myself whether I will or will not go to the elections in 2024. <...> But formally this permission is from the people," he said in December 2020.

Peskov, in turn, had previously expressed confidence that Putin would be elected again. In August, The New York Times published the following quote from the press secretary: "Our presidential election is not exactly a democracy, it is an expensive bureaucracy. <...> Mr. Putin will be re-elected next year with more than 90% of the vote."

Peskov then, in response to a request from RBC to confirm whether he really said so, said that the Americans acted "as always." "As for the fact that Putin will be elected, I am personally sure of it, based on the level of consolidation of society around Putin, yes, that's right. And for the rest, there was a question about the elections and the answer was that although elections are a requirement of democracy and Putin himself decided to hold them, but theoretically they can not even be held. Because it is already obvious that Putin will be elected," the press secretary said at the time. He added that this is his personal opinion.