2018 presidential Poll: Russian Election Commission receives 60 notifications

The Russian Central Election Commission (CEC) has received 60 notifications from aspirants running in the 2018 presidential election.

A member of the CEC Evgeni Shevchenko told Sputnik Tuesday: “as of the end of December, the commission received notifications on holding events related to the nomination of candidates for the post of the Russian president from about 60 [people], including from 21 political parties.

“Representatives of 13 political parties have registered their authorised representatives, many candidates from these parties have already opened election accounts.”

Shevchenko noted that the number of presidential hopefuls for the election was record high, compared to previous years, which could be partially explained by a semblance of ease of participation in the presidential race after the required number of signatures by potential voters to collect was decreased.

He added that presidential hopefuls must submit all necessary documents by the evening of Jan. 31, after which the CEC would take decisions on candidates’ registration within 10 days.

The election campaign in Russia officially began in December 2017, while the election is scheduled for March 18.