Putin campaign collects 1.6 mln signatures in support of candidacy
MOSCOW. Jan 22 (Interfax) - Russian President Vladimir Putin's campaign staff has collected over 1.6 million signatures in support of his self-nomination as a candidate in the 2018 presidential election.
"The aggregated reports came from the regions on Monday, January 22, when all of the signature-collection centers ended their work. More than 1,600,000 signatures have been collected in favor of Vladimir Putin's self-nomination," Putin's campaign headquarters reported on Monday.
The campaign to collect signatures in support of Putin's self-nomination began on January 5. The law stipulates that for an individual to be registered by the Central Elections Commission (CEC) as a presidential candidate, he or she must collect at least 300,000 voters' signatures.
"Hence, in the past two-and-a-half weeks, Vladimir Putin's supporters have managed to collect five times as many signatures as are needed for his registration by the CEC," it said.
About 600 centers have been set up around Russia to collect signatures in support of Putin's self-nomination.
The election is scheduled for March 18, 2018.