Russia reforms: Putin strongly backed by voters, partial results

Russians have strongly supported constitutional reforms that could keep President Vladimir Putin in power until 2036, preliminary results indicate.

With about 98% of ballots counted, more than 78% of voters backed the measures, the electoral commission said.

The reforms would reset Mr Putin's term limits to zero in 2024, allowing him to serve two more six-year terms.

Opposition figures denounced the vote saying he was aiming to be "president for life", a claim Mr Putin denies.

There was no independent scrutiny of the seven-day vote, and copies of the new constitution appeared in bookshops during the week.

Top Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny described the results as a "big lie" which did not reflect real public opinion in the country.

Preliminary results were released hours before the last polling stations closed at 18:00 GMT in the western enclave of Kaliningrad, in the vast country spanning 11 time zones.

Voting began across Russia last week, and the electoral commission put turnout at more than 64%.

Before the vote had ended, the internal affairs ministry said there had been no violations that could affect the result, Interfax reported. But independent monitor Golos said it had received some 2,100 reports of possible violations.

Several hundred opponents of the constitutional changes staged protests in Moscow and St Petersburg.

The Russian president and his supporters say the reforms - in total, more than 200 changes - are needed to ensure national stability.

Mr Putin, aged 67, has not said he will run again for the presidency when his latest term runs out in 2024 - but has said it is vital he has the option to do so.

He has been in power in Russia, either as president or prime minister, for 20 years.

Other conservative reforms include a ban on same-sex marriage and introduce a reference to Russia's ancestral "faith in God".

Both Russia's houses of parliament have already adopted the changes, but President Putin ordered a public vote in a bid to legitimise the reforms. It was delayed from April due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Russian polling stations are usually lively places with music, food stalls and entertainment.

But this vote was far more subdued with temperature checks at the door and staff handing out facemasks against the coronavirus.

There were plenty of strong feelings, though.

Twelve of the 20 people we spoke to at one city-centre polling station were fed up with the "eternal rule" of their president. One woman called this a "sad day for democracy and liberal values"; another wanted an extra tick-box on the ballot paper so she could vote not just "against" but "categorically opposed".

Other Muscovites said they were drawn to the poll by the patriotic wrapping around the one central reform for the Kremlin. Voting never to relinquish control of Crimea, for example, and to protect Russia's "historical truth", they were also happy with Vladimir Putin staying on in power.

As one older man put it: if the captain of a ship is steering the right course, why change him? The preliminary count suggests the majority of people voting this week agree. (BBC)