Addis Ababa April 7, 2021(Walta) – Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law paving the way for him to run for two more presidential terms, potentially extending his rule until 2036.
Putin, who turns 69 this year, is currently serving his fourth presidential term, which is set to end in 2024. The new legislation, announced on Monday, could allow him to serve two more six-year terms, should he choose to stand for and win reelection both times.
According to CNN, the new law formalizes the results of last year’s referendum on amendments to Russia’s constitution.
As well as resetting the clock on Putin’s term limits, the referendum was also a vote on a range of other amendments, including a provision that defined marriage strictly as a “union of a man and a woman.”
Previously, Putin’s efforts to stay in power including a job swap with his then prime minister, Dmitry Medvedev, in 2008, returning to the presidency in 2012 have attracted mass protests and criticism from overseas.
Earlier this year, thousands of people protested across Russia over the jailing of opposition figure Alexey Navalny, who was detained in January on return to the country five months after he was poisoned with the nerve agent Novichok.