Russian presidential election, 2000

Russian presidential election, 2000
Russia
26 March 2000

Turnout 68.6% Decrease 0.2 pp
 
Nominee Vladimir Putin Gennady Zyuganov Grigory Yavlinsky
Party Independent Communist Party Yabloko
Home state Saint Petersburg Oryol Oblast Lviv Oblast (now Ukraine)
Popular vote 39,740,467 21,928,468 4,351,450
Percentage 53.4% 29.5% 5.9%

  Constituencies won by Vladimir Putin
  Constituencies won by Gennady Zyuganov
  Constituencies won by Aman Tuleyev
  Constituencies won by Konstantin Titov

Acting President before election

Vladimir Putin
Independent

Elected President

Vladimir Putin
Independent

Presidential elections were held in Russia on 26 March 2000.[1] Incumbent Prime Minister and acting President Vladimir Putin, who had succeeded Boris Yeltsin on his resignation on 31 December 1999, was seeking a four-year term in his own right and won the elections in the first round. Polling stations were opened from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Candidates

A total of 33 candidates were nominated; 15 submitted the application forms to the Central Electoral Committee, and ultimately 12 candidates were registered. One of them withdrew shortly before the deadline, so 11 candidates took part in the elections: Vladimir Putin, Gennady Zyuganov, Grigory Yavlinsky, Amangeldy Tuleyev, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, Konstantin Titov, Ella Pamfilova, Stanislav Govorukhin, Yury Skuratov, Alexey Podberezkin, and Umar Dzhabrailov.

Campaign

Putin's campaign press service announced that he decided not to use the free radio and television time provided to all candidates and not to take part in TV debates. A number of other candidates explained this as a refusal to clarify his position on various controversial issues. However, during the campaign Putin often appeared on TV screens as a newsmaker.[2]

Conduct

The decision to conduct the presidential elections also in Chechnya was perceived as controversial by many observers due to the military campaign and security concerns.[3] The legislative elections held on 19 December 1999 had been suspended in Chechnya for these reasons.

The PACE observers delegation concluded that "the unequal access to television was one of the main reasons for a degree of unfairness of the campaign" and that "independent media have come under increasing pressure and that media in general, be they State-owned or private, failed to a large extent to provide impartial information about the election campaign and candidates."[2]

The PACE delegation also reported that the media got more and more dominated by politically influential owners. The TV channel ORT launched a slanderous campaign against Yavlinsky's image as his ratings started to rise sharply, and broadcasters generally nearly ignored candidates who did not fulfil interests of their owners. One of the main independent broadcasters, NTV, was subject to increasing financial and administrative pressure during the electoral campaign.

There were also many allegedly serious forgeries reported that could affect Putin's victory in the first round.[4][5]

Results

Candidate Party Votes %
Vladimir PutinIndependent39,740,46753.4
Gennady ZyuganovCommunist Party21,928,46829.5
Grigory YavlinskyYabloko4,351,4505.9
Aman TuleyevIndependent2,217,3643.0
Vladimir ZhirinovskyLiberal Democratic Party2,026,5092.7
Konstantin TitovIndependent[a]1,107,2691.5
Ella PamfilovaFor Civic Dignity758,9671.0
Stanislav GovorukhinIndependent328,7230.4
Yury SkuratovIndependent319,1890.4
Alexey PodberezkinSpiritual Heritage98,1770.1
Umar DzhabrailovIndependent78,4980.1
Against all1,414,6731.9
Invalid/blank votes701,016
Total75,070,770100
Registered voters/turnout109,372,04368.6
Source: Nohlen & Stöver, University of Essex

a Titov was unofficially aligned with the Union of Rightist Forces.[6]

Putin’s highest official result was in Ingushetia - 85.42%, his lowest achievement was in neighbouring Chechnya – 29.65%, Zyuganov’s results ranged from 47.41% in the Lipetsk region to 4.63% in Ingushetia, Yavlinsky’s results ranged from 18.56% in Moscow to 0.42% in Dagestan, Zhirinovsky’s results ranged from 6.13% in the Kamchatka region to 0.29% in Ingushetia.[7]

References

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