Russia kicks off early presidential elections for remote voters

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
25 Feb 2024 09:35

Around 30,000 people will have access to voting stations in hard-to-reach distant areas ahead of the March presidential elections.

A man walks out of a voting booth at a polling station during Russia's presidential election in the village of Novye Bateki in 2018 (AFP).

Early voting for the Russian presidential elections kicked off in remote and hard-to-reach areas in the country's far east, according to the Russian news agency TASS.

Deputy head of the regional election commission in Kamchatka, Igor Shamrayev, stated that "around 30,000 people will be able to vote early."

He added that more than 120 polling stations will be opened for sailors and fishermen, including those on submarines currently servicing in the waters of the Kamchatka Peninsula and beyond.

In Chukotka Autonomous Okrug (in the far northeast of Russia), around 4,000 voters from distant and hard-to-reach areas will participate in early voting. According to the head of the regional election commission, Nikolai Goncharov, members of local election commissions will reach these areas by helicopters and all-terrain vehicles.

Meanwhile, in the Khabarovsk Krai, located in the Russian Far East, bordering the Amur River and located 20 kilometers from the border with the People's Republic of China, access to many remote residential areas is only possible by air.

Early voting will also be available for about 12,900 voters in Yakutia (the Russian Far East, the largest autonomous region in the world), about 15,000 voters in Magadan (far northeast Russia), and more than 5,000 voters in the Amur Region (the Russian Far East).

The Russian Federation Council set the date for the presidential elections on March 17, 2024. Additionally, the Central Election Commission determined that voting will span three days, from March 15 to March 17, marking the first time that presidential elections in Russia will be held over three days.