Russia’s election commission on Monday formally registered President Vladimir Putin as a candidate for the March 2024 presidential election. Putin, 71, is running as an independent candidate, but he retains tight control over Russia's political system that he has established during 24 years in power. In 2018, Putin also ran as an independent, snubbing the United Russia party that nominated him to run in 2012. The Central Election Commission formally cleared Putin for the race after reviewing 315,000 signatures gathered by his campaign from all 89 regions of Russia. The Central Election Commission is expected to review Nadezhdin's papers later this week to decide whether to register him for the race.

Source: Fox News January 29, 2024 13:35 UTC