Kerala to Kremlin: Russian nationals residing in India vote for presidential elections

Kerala joins the global chorus as Russian nationals in the southern Indian state cast their votes for the presidential elections.

Russian presidential elections are underway from March 15-17 with Vladimir Putin poised to extend his presidency until 2030. Citizens are casting their votes at the various polling booths across the world, including one in Kerala!

Interestingly, expatriates will also be allowed to vote, Russian state media TASS quoted the country's central election body as saying. CNN said that overseas voting will take place at 288 polling stations in 144 countries.

Coming back to Kerala, Russian nationals are set to participate in the elections at a designated polling station established at the Honorary Consulate of the Russian Federation, situated in the Russian House, Thiruvananthapuram, according to ANI.

Ratheesh Nair, the Honorary Consul of Russia and Director of the Russian House in Thiruvananthapuram, expressed gratitude to the Russian community in Kerala for their collaboration as they organize polling for the Russian presidential elections for the third consecutive time.

"This is the third time the Consulate of Russian Federation is hosting polling for the Russian presidential elections. This is actually for Russian nationalists staying here and also for the tourists."

"We are happy to associate with the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation," Nair told the news agency.

Russian citizens will cast their votes from Friday through Sunday across the 11 time zones of the country.

CNN reported that Russia's Central Election Commission (CEC) has authorized only three candidates to challenge Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The three candidates opposing Putin are largely pro-Kremlin, with none opposing Russia's military actions in Ukraine. All three of them aren't considered viable opposition. Those who were viable are either dead, jailed, exiled, barred from running or simply token figures, the report said.

If reelected, Putin's rule would extend until at least 2030, possibly until 2036 under constitutional changes from 2020.