Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to a question during his annual news conference in Moscow, Russia, Dec 14, 2017. (PAVEL GOLOVKIN / AP)
MOSCOW - The Russian Federation Council, or the upper house of parliament, on Friday
officially set the country's presidential election date for March 18, 2018.
The resolution setting the date to be published on Monday will
effectively give a start to the election campaign, chairman of the Federation
Council's Constitutional Legislation Committee Andrei Klishas said in a
statement.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has declared his
intention to participate in the race as an independent candidate, is widely
expected to win his fourth term.
ALSO READ: Russian President Putin announces re-election bid
The latest public opinion poll by
government-owned research center VTSIOM showed that Putin's approval rating
stood at 53.5 percent as of Dec. 10, up from 53.0 percent a week earlier,
leaving all possible rivals far behind.
To be registered as an
independent presidential candidate, a candidate has to collect at least 300,000
voters' signatures on his or her behalf by Feb 1.
If a candidate
wishes to run within the framework of a political party, this party will have to
collect no less than 100,000 signatures on the candidate's behalf.
The
election was previously planned to be held on March 11, but later it was
postponed to March 18, when the country will celebrate the Day of Incorporation
of Crimea.
The peninsula joined Russia in 2014 following a local
referendum, which Western countries did not recognize as legitimate.
The law declaring March 18 a national holiday was adopted in 2015.
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