Putin files for re-election

Mr. Putin submitted his application to run as an independent candidate in the 2018 Russian presidential election.

Putin submits re-election application in Moscow. Photo: AFP.

Russia's Central Election Commission accepted Mr Putin's documents today. They have five days to examine them and make a final decision on his registration to run for election, according to Reuters.

Yesterday, more than 600 Russian politicians, activists and celebrities formed a group to back Mr Putin's bid to run as an independent candidate.

Russian President Putin announced on December 6 that he intends to run for re-election in 2018. Running as an independent candidate means that if Putin is accepted as an official candidate, he will have to collect and submit to the Central Election Commission the signatures of 300,000 supporters.

The Russian presidential election is scheduled for March 18, 2018. A public opinion poll in early December, shortly after Mr. Putin announced his intention to run, showed that 67% of Russians planned to vote for the incumbent President./.

According to VNE