Russian presidential election, 2008

The presidential election in Russia in 2008 were held on 2 March 2008. It is the fifth election since the formation of the Russian Federation, in which the President of Russia was determined. The office since 2000, President Vladimir Putin did not run again in this election, because the Russian constitution for the president allows no more than two consecutive terms. Instead won the near putin candidate Dmitry Medvedev.

Original forecasts

Putin's loyal candidates

Among the possible presidential candidate, who would continue the policy of Vladimir Putin and therefore would have the support of state power, the two First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and Sergei Ivanov were. Although the two were non-party, but enjoyed the support of the pro-government United Russia party. After the appointment of Viktor Zubkov as prime minister on 14 September 2007 he was traded as a possible Putin successor; he even had the possibility of his candidacy is not excluded.

According to a survey conducted in September 2007 opinion poll Medvedev and Ivanov would have been the most likely candidates at this point: In the event of a second round they reached 59 or 41 percent of the vote.

On December 10, Putin announced that according to his will, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev to become the new head of state. In addition, Dmitry Medvedev is supported by the Just Russia party, citizen power and the Agrarian Party. Experts initially did not exclude that Putin could support another candidate.

Opposition candidates

Several opposition parties also wanted Russia to send their top candidates in the race. It was expected that the Communist Party will again be represented by its Chairman Gennady Zyuganov. The liberal opposition sought to draw up a single candidate who would represent all the liberal forces. In September 2007, the newly established opposition coalition The Other Russia elected from among its members Garry Kasparov as a single presidential candidate. Nevertheless, for several more liberal politicians expressed the intention to compete, including the chairman of the Yabloko party Grigory Yavlinsky, the former Central Bank chief Viktor Gerashchenko, the human rights activist Vladimir Bukovsky and the Arkhangelsk Mayor Alexander Donskoi. The former Prime Minister and current Putin opponent Mikhail Kasyanov was officially established on December 8 of its motion Popular Democratic Union as a candidate.

Other candidates were the LDPR chairman Vladimir Zhirinovsky, and former Duma speaker Gennady Seleznev.

Approval by the Central Election Commission

On December 16, the registration period was at the Central Election Commission to end on December 18 and announced her head Vladimir Churov, the six approved presidential candidates:

• Andrei Bogdanov of the Democratic Party of Russia
• Not allowed Mikhail Kasyanov of the Russian Democratic People's Union
• Dmitry Medvedev, United Russia, supported by Fair Russia, the Agrarian Party and the civil power
• Withdrawn Boris Nemtsov of the Union of Right Forces
• Vladimir Zhirinovsky of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia
• Gennady Zyuganov of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation

Grigory Yavlinsky withdrew his candidacy in favor of the candidacy of Vladimir Bukovsky. Its candidacy was rejected by the Central Election Commission, however, because a presidential candidate must have lived according to the Russian Constitution, the last 10 years in Russia. Vladimir Bukovsky has lived in the UK for many decades. Garry Kasparov missed the registration deadline, because he could not find his words no place in all of Moscow to conduct a party meeting.

On December 26, Boris Nemtsov announced to withdraw his candidacy in favor of Mikhail Kasyanov. The candidates not represented in the Duma parties (ie, Bogdanov and Kasyanov ) must by law until mid-January to submit in support of their candidacy at the Central Election Commission two million signatures each.

The Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation announced on 27 January 2008 that 13.38 percent of signatures of support for Mikhail Kasyanov were incorrect. But the election law only allow a margin of error of 5 percent. So he get no approval for presidential election. The Office of the Attorney General initiated a fraud case against the campaign office Kasyanov. He would forego a lawsuit because the Russian courts were not independent. Kasyanov called the Russian government as totalitarian and called for a boycott of the presidential elections.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE ) will send on 7 February 2008, no election observers to Russia, according to the relevant OSCE's Office for the observation of elections in Warsaw. According to the OSCE speaker Göran Lennmarker would result to strong constraints on the choice of observers by the Russian authorities. Russia criticized the organization that is seen there mainly as a geopolitical tool of the West, because of alleged arbitrary and degrading demands, which would aim to bring about a scandal.

Election result

The preliminary official results of the election after counting 100 % of the vote was given by the Electoral Commission as follows:

The turnout was 69.71 percent, after calculating the Electoral Commission.

Manipulation allegations

Internet news services reported, striking changes in voter lists. So it was in July 2007, officially 107.062 million eligible voters, just before the general election, this number increased to 109.146 million, while it officially gave back less entitled to vote on the presidential election with 106 999 000. While the Central Election Commission declared these differences with an update of voter lists, critics suspect that before the parliamentary elections, the official number of electors was increased, as the absolute number of votes a decision on the allocation of seats. In order for the presidential elections in which, in contrast, the percentage share of votes decides to achieve a high turnout, the number of electors had been reduced again. The lists Painted voters who had appeared to cast their vote, were then - been included in the voters' lists, even if they could not prove that they were assigned to the appropriate electoral district - again illegally.