Putin Amendment May Allow Third Term

 

By HENRY MEYER

Associated Press Writer

 

June 24, 2005, 2:50 PM EDT

 

MOSCOW -- Lawmakers are considering an electoral amendment next week that could open the way for President Vladimir Putin to run for a third term, prompting the opposition to accuse his supporters of trying to cling to power.

 

Putin has repeatedly said he will not change the constitution, which bars presidents from serving more than two consecutive terms.

 

A senior member of his United Russia party, however, submitted a legislative amendment Thursday that would allow Putin to stand for re-election if he stepped down before the end of his second term ends in March 2008, and if the next presidential poll held without his participation is declared invalid -- for example, because of low turnout.

 

The lawmaker, Alexander Moskalets, deputy head of the lower house's constitutional legislation committee, declined to comment on the initiative, which was part of a package of electoral legislation to be voted on in its second reading Wednesday.

 

But speculation has been rife that Putin would seek to stay in power beyond 2008. The 52-year-old former secret service chief, hand-picked to succeed former President Boris Yeltsin, has been highly popular since he was first elected in 2000.

 

Critics in the opposition accused the Kremlin clan of seeking a backdoor means for keeping Putin in office because they could not find a popular enough successor.

 

"They have decided to come up with various scenarios that would enable the president to stay on beyond 2008, because otherwise they will fear for their personal interests," said the leader of the nationalist Rodina (Homeland) party, Dmitry Rogozin, according to the news Web site Gazeta.ru.

 

Liberal opposition politician Irina Khakamada, who ran for president in 2004, suggested Putin's supporters, including in the powerful secret service faction that now hold top positions in state companies, were worried about their future.

 

"There is a real problem surrounding the succession. All they are interested in is redistribution of assets," she said.

 

But she doubted the amendment would pass, saying Putin himself had no wish to tarnish his image or "burn his bridges with the international community" by circumventing the constitution.

 

In April, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Washington was concerned about democratic backsliding in Russia, and that the U.S. expected Putin to respect the constitution and step down at the end of his term.

 

During his time in power, Putin has placed national television under effective state control, abolished the direct election of regional governors to make them virtual Kremlin appointees, and eliminated the right of independent lawmakers to run for parliament.

 

 

This guy seriously needs to choke on a potato..... :barf

Why can't this dood just "go on vacation" like some of his political opposition of recent years?

or a pretzil...

Unfortunately, it has turned out that having a former KGB director as the President of Russia has been extremely bad for the people.

 

Hopefully the Russian people will rebel against Putin's consolidation of power.

Rebel or protest? Russia has the makings not of a world power but a third world country. look how hard its been to maintain strong dmeocracies in latin america. I wonder if russia will have the same problem? It isnt just ptuin btw, it looks like the tides of totalitarianism have not changed much since gorby

Russia is a mess. We should form a world coalition, invade them, enslave their people, and throw salt on their lands so nothing ever grows there again.

Russia is a mess. We should form a world coalition, invade them, enslave their people, and throw salt on their lands so nothing ever grows there again.829617[/snapback]

That would just make Russia the exact same as it was when Stalin was in power...