Amendment could pave way for third Putin term
Russian MPs are to consider an electoral amendment next week that could open the way for President Vladimir Putin to run for a third term, prompting opposition MPs to accuse Kremlin supporters of trying to cling to power.
Putin has repeatedly said he will not change the constitution, which bars presidents from serving more than two consecutive terms.
A senior member of his United Russia party, however, has submitted a legislative amendment that would allow Putin to stand for re-election if he stepped down before the end of his second term ends in March 2008, and if the next presidential poll held without his participation is declared invalid – for example, because of low turnout.
The MP, Alexander Moskalets, deputy head of the lower house’s constitutional legislation committee, declined to comment on the initiative, which was part of a package of electoral legislation to be voted on in its second reading on Wednesday.
But speculation has been rife that Putin would seek to stay in power beyond 2008. The 52-year-old former secret service chief, hand-picked to succeed former President Boris Yeltsin, has been highly popular since he was first elected in 2000.
Critics in the opposition accused the Kremlin clan of seeking a backdoor means for keeping Putin in the presidency because they could not find a successor popular enough to win an election.
“They have decided to come up with various scenarios that would enable the president to stay on beyond 2008, because otherwise they will fear for their personal interests,” said the leader of the nationalist Rodina (Homeland) party, Dmitry Rogozin, according to the Gazeta.ru news website.
Liberal opposition politician Irina Khakamada, who ran in 2004 presidential elections, suggested Putin’s supporters, including in the powerful secret service faction that now hold top positions in state companies, were worried about their futures under an unknown successor.
“There is a real problem surrounding the succession. All they are interested in is redistribution of assets,” she said.
But she doubted the amendment would pass, saying Putin himself had no wish to tarnish his image or “burn his bridges with the international community” by circumventing the constitution.
In April, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Washington was concerned about democratic backsliding in Russia, and that the US expected Putin to respect the constitution and step down at the end of his term.
During his time in power, Putin has placed national television under effective state control, abolished the direct election of regional governors to make them virtual Kremlin appointees and eliminated the right of independent MPs to stand for parliament.
