PUTIN , Russia’s President on Monday signed a law allowing him to potentially hold onto power until 2036, a move that formalizes constitutional changes endorsed in a vote last year.
Putin’s previous term limits were reset in the July 1 constitutional vote, allowing him to run for president two more times. The Kremlin-controlled legislature approved the change, and the relevant law, signed by Putin, was posted Monday on an official legal information portal.
The 68-year old Putin, who has been in power for more than two decades – longer than any other Kremlin leader since Soviet dictator Josef Stalin – said he would decide later whether to run for re-election in 2024, when his current six-year term expires.
Putin argued that resetting the term count was necessary to keep his lieutenants focused on their work rather than “darting their eyes in search of possible successors.” a legal information portal
CONTROVERSY
The constitutional amendments also emphasised Russian law’s primacy over international norms, prohibited same-sex marriages, and listed “belief in God” as a core value. During the week-long vote, which ended on July 1, nearly 78 percent of voters approved the constitutional amendments. The turnout rate was 68 percent.
Following the vote, Russian lawmakers modified national legislation methodically, passing the relevant legislation.
The opposition slammed the constitutional vote, claiming it was tainted by widespread reports of voter pressure and other irregularities, as well as a lack of transparency and barriers to independent monitoring.
NAVALNY NOT WELL
In an Instagram post on Monday, Navalny revealed that three of the 15 people in his room at the penal colony had tuberculosis. He stated that he had a persistent cough and a fever of 38.1 degrees Celsius (100.6 Fahrenheit).
Later that day, the newspaper Izvestia published a statement from the state penitentiary service in which it stated that Navalny was transferred to the prison colony’s sanitary unit after a checkup revealed “signs of a respiratory illness, including a high fever.”
Navalny said in an acerbic note that he and other inmates studied a tuberculosis prevention notice that emphasised the importance of strengthening immunity through a balanced diet – advice that contrasted with a prison ration of “glue-like porridge and frozen potatoes.”
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