2012 Russian presidential election

2012 Russian presidential election

← 2008 4 March 2012 2018 →
Opinion polls
Registered109,860,331
Turnout65.27% (Decrease4.44pp)
 
Nominee Vladimir Putin Gennady Zyuganov
Party United Russia CPRF
Popular vote 45,602,075 12,318,353
Percentage 64.35% 17.38%

 
Nominee Mikhail Prokhorov Vladimir Zhirinovsky
Party Independent LDPR
Popular vote 5,722,508 4,458,103
Percentage 8.08% 6.29%

Results by federal subject
Vladimir Putin:      45–50%      50–55%      55–60%      60–65%      65–70%      70–75%      75–80%      80–85%      85–90%      90–95%      >95%

President before election

Dmitry Medvedev
United Russia

Elected President

Vladimir Putin
United Russia

Presidential elections were held in Russia on 4 March 2012.[1] There were five officially registered candidates: four representatives of registered parties, and one nominal independent. The election was the first one held after constitutional amendments were introduced in 2008, in which the elected president for the first time would serve a six-year term, rather than a four-year term.

At the congress of the ruling United Russia party in Moscow on 24 September 2011, the incumbent president Dmitry Medvedev proposed that his predecessor, Vladimir Putin, stand for the presidency in 2012, an offer which Putin accepted. Putin immediately offered Medvedev the opportunity to stand on the United Russia ticket in the parliamentary elections in December 2011 and become prime minister at the end of his presidential term.[2] All independents had to register by 15 December 2011, and candidates nominated by parties were required to register by 18 January 2012. The final list was announced on 29 January. On 2 March, outgoing president Medvedev addressed the nation on the national television channels about the upcoming elections, inviting citizens to vote.[citation needed]

Putin received 63.6% of the vote,[3] securing a third overall term. Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe observers assessed the voting on the election day positively overall, but assessed the vote count negatively in almost one-third of polling stations due to procedural irregularities.[4][5]

  1. ^ "Russia's presidential elections scheduled for March 2012". B92. RIA Novosti. 21 July 2011. Archived from the original on 23 July 2011. Retrieved 25 September 2011.
  2. ^ "Russia's Putin set to return as president in 2012". BBC News. 24 September 2011. Retrieved 24 September 2011.
  3. ^ Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation Archived 4 March 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Cikrf.ru. Retrieved on 5 March 2012.
  4. ^ "Russia's presidential election marked by unequal campaign conditions, active citizens' engagement, international observers say". Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.
  5. ^ Herszenhorn, David M. (5 March 2012). "Observers Detail Flaws in Russian Election". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 March 2012.