Russian President Vladimir Putin has thanked the country’s citizens for approving constitutional amendments, TASS informs.
“I would like to extend my gratitude to Russian citizens and say thank you for your support and trust,” the head of state said, opening a meeting of the Pobeda (or Victory) organizing committee.
Putin said that he understands those who voted against amendments to the Russian constitution.
“I understand those our fellow countrymen who voted against,” Putin said. “We still have a lot of unresolved problems, this is true, people often face injustice, callousness, indifference. Many still live hard lives, while we, the country’s leadership, often think that we are doing our best.”
“But no, life shows a different picture, life shows that we often underperform, while we must act quicker, more exactly, in a more organized manner and more efficiently,” the president stressed.
The Russian president’s decree set July 1 as the official voting day, but Russians were provided with the opportunity to cast their ballots on June 25-30 in order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
According to the law, the amendments will enter into force if over half of those taking part in the vote support them. There is no minimum voter turnout. With all ballots counted, 77.92% of voters supported the amendments and 21.27% voted “no.” Overall turnout was 67.97%.
Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday that the Kremlin viewed the vote’s outcome as a triumph. According to experts, no major irregularities took place during the vote, which proved to be transparent. Central Election Commission (CEC) Chairperson Ella Pamfilova pointed out that there were no reports of irregularities that required the CEC’s attention.
