Five hours before voting closes, Vladimir Putin has been announced as the winner of a referendum that will allow him to stay in power until 2036.
Today is the final day of the 2020 Russian constitutional referendum, a national vote on proposed amendments to the Russian constitution that started on June 25.
Per CNN, Russia's Central Election Commission (CEC) has already released a preliminary tally of results in a nationwide referendum on constitutional reform, revealing that 74.54% of the citizens have voted in support of the amendments.
The image above shows Putin visiting a polling station at the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Currently aged 67, this means the Russian president could seize power until the age of 84.
Per The Independent, the current results are in line with exit polls published by state pollsters FOM and VTsIOM.
The ballot asked for a yes or no answer to 206 amendments in entirety.
The proposal to reset Putin's term limits was only one, with official campaign literature invariably focused on the other 205 changes.
CNN states that the amendments were "designed to appeal to conservative voters", including a ban on gay marriage, guarantees for indexation of pensions, and other social benefits.
