Review of Russia's presidential elections

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, March 12, 2004

Review of Russia's presidential elections

Russians will cast their votes Sunday to elect a new president from among six candidates, a race which incumbent President Vladimir Putin is widely predicted to win comfortably.

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Russians will cast their votes Sunday to elect a new president from among six candidates, a race which incumbent President Vladimir Putin is widely predicted to win comfortably.

Following is a review of the past three presidential polls in Russia:

Over the past 13 years three presidential elections have been held in Russia, witnessing a series of vital political and economic changes after the disintegration of the Soviet Union. These elections have exerted significant and profound influence onthe country's development.

Russia's first-ever presidential election was held on June 12, 1991, under the Soviet election law, when the then 60-year-old Boris Yeltsin was elected with 57 percent of the vote. The RussianFederation became the successor of the Soviet Union after the latter collapsed at the end of 1991.

During his first presidency, Yeltsin on the one hand carried out the "shock-therapy" economic reform and on the other promoted a Western-style democratic process. The radical reforms did not achieve the expected results but plunged the country into a more critical political and economic crisis.

In the mid-1990s, the failure of economic reforms, the drop of Russians' living standard and the prolonged Chechen war seriously damaged Yeltsin's prestige. He won only 35.2 percent of the vote in the first round of the second presidential elections held on June 16, 1996, a narrow lead of 3 percent over his communist rivalGennady Zyuganov. He defeated Zyuganov and won reelection in the runoff in July by forging a union with retired General Alexander Lebed, who gathered 14.7 percent of the vote to rank third behind Yeltsin and Zyuganov in the first round of the election.

According to official data, Russia's gross domestic product (GDP) shrank 50 percent in the 1990s and domestic and foreign debtsrose to 225 billion US dollars while the "shadow economy" accounted for some 40 percent of the GDP. The political situation worsened amid the economic crisis.

Yeltsin, who had replaced six prime ministers between 1998 and 1999, made a historic decision on Dec. 31, 1999, to step down, sixmonths before the expiry of his term, and appointed the then PrimeMinister Putin, hand-picked by him nearly five months ago, as the acting head of state.

Putin, thanks to his bold military actions against Chechen rebels, his no-nonsense incorruptible image and his promise to rejuvenate the Russian nation, won the third presidential electionheld on March 26, 2000, with 52.52 percent of the voters supporting him.

The results of the election reflected Russians' desire to have the domestic political situation stabilized, the national economy revived and living standard improved.

During his four-year tenure, Putin has achieved notable progress in enhancing the central power, balancing relations between legislative body and law enforcement agencies and maintaining a stable economic growth.

During the period, Russia's GDP grew nearly 30 percent and inflation and unemployment continued dropping. The population's real income went up 50 percent. While the government has paid 50 billion dollars in foreign debts, the Central Bank's foreign reserves, a vital indicator of Russia's financial well-being, havereached a record high of 84 billions dollars. Last year, Putin outlined for the government three strategic goals, including doubling the GDP in 10 years, greatly reducing poverty and modernizing the armed forces, to ensure national development.

The upcoming presidential poll is to be held in a relatively stable political situation and against a background of continuous economic growth. The results of last December's parliamentary election have thoroughly changed the political structure in the state legislature, with the pro-Putin's United Russia party gaining a two-thirds majority in the 450-seat State Duma, the lower house of the parliament. This has laid a solid socio-political foundation for Putin's re-election and paved the way forhis victory.

According to the latest opinion polls, Putin's popularity remains at around 70 percent, with none of his five rivals gettingan approval rating higher than 5 percent, therefore he is predicted to win a resounding victory in the election. And turnout is expected to be higher than 50 percent, which is required by the election law to make the presidential poll valid.

Source: Xinhua

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