No Early Russian Presidential Elections Says Kremlin

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – November 7, 2016)

The Kremlin has dismissed rumors of early presidential elections as “absolute speculation.”

Presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told journalists that the issue was “not on the agenda.”

“This is absolute speculation,” Peskov said. “There are no such discussions in the Kremlin.”

A number of experts had claimed that the vote could be pushed forward to capitalize on the current popularity of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Many have argued that the president’s ratings could suffer as the Russian electorate feel the effects of a range of cost-cutting measures designed to counter Russia’s ongoing economic crisis.

#Russia’s presidential elections are currently due to take place in March 2018. Elections for the country’s lower house of parliament, the State Duma, saw a landslide victory for the president’s ruling United Russia party, which secured a parliamentary super-majority. International observers widely condemned the elections for their corruption.

[featured image is file photo]