Russian lawmakers adopt legislation on ‘zeroing out’ Putin’s presidential terms

The Russian State Duma adopted in the final reading legislation on allowing President Vladimir Putin to run for the presidency in two more elections. The corresponding amendments have been introduced to the law “On presidential elections in the Russian Federation,” Interfax reported on Wednesday, March 24.

The legislation states that a Russian citizen who has held the presidency for two terms already cannot be re-elected for another term. However, this requirement does not apply to the person who held the presidency at the time when the relevant amendments to the Russian constitution came into force. In other words, current President Vladimir Putin and former President Dmitry Medvedev will have the right to run for two more presidential terms each.

In addition, the new legislation introduces a rule stating that anyone who has ever held a second citizenship or foreign residency permit cannot become president of the Russian Federation. 

Voting on amendments to the constitution, which included changes on resetting Putin’s presidential terms and thereby allowing him to potentially stay in power until 2036, took place from June 25 to July 1, 2020. According to election officials, the amendments gained nearly 78 percent support and turnout for the nationwide vote was around 65 percent.