Russians in Serbia and Montenegro vote in Russian presidential elections

2024-03-17 13:24:34, Kosova & Bota CNA

Russian citizens living in Serbia and Montenegro will vote in the Russian presidential election on Sunday, the last day of the election.

They have the opportunity to vote for one of the four candidates on the ballot, including the current president Vladimir Putin, who is almost certain to win, as his opponents are in prison, in exile or dead.

Elections in Russia are heavily controlled by the Kremlin and are neither free nor fair.

Russian citizens in Serbia will vote at the school of the Russian Embassy in Belgrade.

The non-governmental organization Russian Democratic Society, led by Russian citizens in Serbia, announced that it will join the global action "Noon against Putin", to honor the last legacy of Alexei Navalny, the most vocal critic of the Kremlin, who died on February 16 in an isolated Arctic prison under suspicious circumstances.

"Citizens of Russia who oppose Vladimir Putin's dictatorship and intend to vote against him will go to the polls at noon on March 17 to publicly demonstrate their numbers, despite election fraud and propaganda," the Russian Democratic Society said.

In Montenegro, voting for the Russian presidential elections was organized in the building of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Podgorica.

The polling center will be open from 08:00 to 20:00 on Sunday.

"To vote, you must visit the polling station in person and show a valid passport," the Russian Embassy said on its website.

The embassy stated on the Telegram network that security and control measures will be strengthened on voting day to protect the safety of voters and members of the electoral commission.

On the Embassy's website and social networks, there is no data on the number of Russian citizens who have the right to vote in Podgorica.

About 27,000 Russians officially reside in Montenegro.

At the end of January, Russian activists in Montenegro organized the collection of signatures for the candidacy of the Russian opposition politician, Boris Nadezhdin, for the presidential elections.

However, Nadezhdin - a 60-year-old anti-war politician - was barred from running by Russia's Central Election Commission last month due to what it said were invalid signatures of supporters on his registration application as a presidential candidate.

He appealed, but the commission's decision was upheld by the Supreme Court of Russia./ REL