vote on amendments to the Constitution caused the well-known resonance in the Western mass-media. “MK” has learned that misleading the readers and viewers of foreign media.
The Guardian: “the Kremlin and its supporters won a nationwide vote for the amendments to the Constitution and reset the deadlines of powers of Vladimir Putin, which potentially allows him to rule until 2036.
(…) the results will allow the Kremlin to say that the vast majority of Russians support the continuation of Putin’s rule after 2024, the year, which is still celebrated the end of his fourth and final term in office. In announcing the vote, almost no mention of the fact that it will result in the limitation of the term of authority of Putin.
One vote “for” or “against” the Russians have also decided to support the package of amendments, which includes a rise in pensions and minimum wages, a modest reorganization of the government, the constitutional reference to “faith in God”, the ban on same-sex marriage, appeals to preserve Russian language and history, as well as a ban senior officials to have dual citizenship.
the Vote was the last step to the inclusion of amendments to the Constitution. They have already been addressed by the Supreme court of Russia and supported by the regional legislators”.
Financial Times: “the Name of Vladimir Putin does not appear on the ballot for a popular vote to approve proposed changes to the Russian Constitution, and the fan’s statements during the interview, mostly avoided mentioning the provision which may allow him to remain President until 2036.
(…) Planned changes include the constitutional guarantees of social benefits, plus a number of amendments designed to satisfy nationalist sentiment and seduction of the voters. These include prohibitions on same-sex marriage and the return of Russian-owned territory, the consolidation of the Russian language as the “language of the state forming ethnic group” and a ban on “denigration of the value of the triumph of the people in the defense of the Fatherland” during the Second world war. But neither Mr. Putin in his address nor in the official materials of the campaign did not pay much attention to the item that resets the maximum allowable currently two presidential terms. …This could potentially allow Putin to run for presidency two more times, when his current six-year term expires in 2024″.
CNN: “President Vladimir Putin won a landslide victory in his bid to remain in power until the middle of next decade, since, according to preliminary results, Russians overwhelmingly voted for the approval of the political status quo page��us.
on Wednesday, the Russians went to the polls to vote in a national referendum on constitutional changes. The vote paves the way for Putin, who has ruled for two decades, to remain President until 2036. In the election literature little is mentioned about the true purpose of the referendum, which he regarded as a return to old fashioned family values, designed to attract conservative voters.”
Le Monde: “According to nearly final results, 78% of them voted for reform. Part, the main fear of the authorities, is 65%, which is close to the target of 70% set by many regional officials.
There are many keys to success of power: the real popularity of Vladimir Putin, the thirst for stability, which has become a core value of Russian politics, as well as insidious and effective marketing of elections and important agreements with democratic voting”.
Zeit: “This constitutional referendum which is not even called “referendum”, because it has very peculiar rules, was the weirdest vote in the new Russian history. For the first time people voted not just for one day, but for a whole week – officially the pandemic coronavirus. They voted in the open trunk of a car, an old bus, on the trunk of a tree, on playgrounds, in tents and rickety chairs that were installed in the middle of the sidewalk. (…) Changes to the Constitution, which, according to official data, voted 77.9 percent of the voters after counting of almost all votes to allow President Vladimir Putin to run for presidency two more times”.
