India is currently holding its 18th Parliamentary Elections (in seven phases from April 19 to June 1, 2024). Most of the national, as well as foreign, media are discussing the candidates and the election strategies of various Indian political outfits in detail. Russia, too, recently held the Presidential Election. Ahead of the election, the priority of the Vladimir Putin Administration was to inform people about the election date and to urge them to cast votes. Hence, the concerned authorities in Moscow used various platforms, from mobile apps to billboards, to inspire people to take part in the election.

Russia is not a Parliamentary Democracy like India. The Russian President is the supreme head of his country and is elected by the common people. The Parliamentary Elections are held separately there as people elect the members of Duma. Candidates nominated by political parties or members of the Russian Parliament may apply to the Election Commission for contesting the Presidential Election. Although Independent candidates can also apply, they have to submit a petition signed by at least 0.3 million Russian citizens to the Election Commission in order to qualify as a candidate.

The incumbent President and three other candidates were qualified to run for President by the Russian Election Commission in 2024. The Presidential Election was held in Russia on March 15-17 (2024) and Putin was re-elected for a fifth term with more than 88% of the votes. This percentage is certainly an unprecedented one in current Russian history.

Although many have described the outcome of the Presidential Election as Predetermined Conclusion, President Putin is undoubtedly quite popular among his countrymen. As per statistics, nearly 10.3 million blank ballots were cast this time, and it is about 1.6% of the total votes! This is 45% more than the 2018 Presidential Election. Meanwhile, the voter turnout was over 77%.

Some of the global media outlets have called the Russian electoral system a Guided Democracy. It is mainly because the remaining three candidates, who participated in the Presidential Election, backed policies of President Putin and his Government. Also, there were some Opposition candidates. However, they could not get the eligibility to participate in the election from the Election Commission. It is quite natural that anti-Government views would not find space in the official press especially in a special situation like war.

Non-confrontational (or Opposition-less) politics is not desirable for any Democracy. One can hope that the Indian Parliamentary Elections would be free and fair, and the multi-party system and different political ideologies would exist in the World’s Largest Democracy regardless of the outcome of the ongoing elections.

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das