Russia opens polling station in North Korea for one voter

According to Sputnik, information on the Facebook page of the Russian embassy in North Korea today (January 30) said that there is only one Russian citizen, named Vladimir Li, currently living permanently in North Korea.

"The embassy is in constant contact with Vladimir, regularly visits and invites him to the embassy and provides necessary support if needed. As a Russian citizen, Vladimir will also participate in the election as is happening in the country. On March 18, Vladimir will go to Pyongyang, and in particular, polling station No. 8163 will be opened in the consular room of the embassy."

Currently, 14 candidates running for election have been allowed to open campaign accounts and collect voter signatures, which is mandatory for registered candidates. Two of them, Vladimir Zhirinovsky and Pavel Grudinin, have been officially recognized by the Russian Central Election Commission.

Meanwhile, the Russian Central Election Commission has finished counting the signatures collected from voters supporting the incumbent President Putin. Mr. Putin wants to run for re-election as an independent candidate. The Election Commission will now begin the verification process.

According to plan, the Russian presidential election will take place on March 18 and the election campaign will begin on December 18, 2017.