Constitutional changes are the 'right thing' for Russia: Putin

[webfact]

Constitutional changes are the 'right thing' for Russia: Putin

 

FILE PHOTO: Russian President Vladimir Putin waves as he leaves after the Victory Day Parade in Red Square in Moscow, Russia June 24, 2020. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo

 

MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin said on Sunday constitutional amendments approved in a nationwide vote created the conditions for Russia's "progressive development" for decades to come.

 

One of the changes approved in the week-long vote that ended on July 1 makes it possible for Putin to seek two more terms as president and, if re-elected, to stay in power until 2036.

 

Other changes grant former presidents immunity from prosecution, enshrine a reference in the constitution to God, offer pensions protection and define marriage as a union of a man and a woman.

 

Opponents said the vote was illegal and illegitimate, and an independent monitoring group said the vote was deeply flawed.

 

But Russian news agencies quoted Putin as saying: "I am absolutely convinced that we are doing the right thing in adopting amendments to the current constitution."

 

"They will strengthen our nationhood and create conditions for the progressive development of our country for decades to come," he said.

 

The Kremlin has hailed the overwhelming vote in favour of the amendments as a triumph for Putin, who said on Friday that Russian society had shown unity by voting to back the reforms.

 

(Reporting by Maxim Rodionov, Editing by Timothy Heritage)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-07-06

 

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[Paiman]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

Other changes grant former presidents immunity from prosecution, enshrine a reference in the constitution to God,

Others might get some ideas to blow up their Ego further.

[Mavideol]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

Constitutional changes are the 'right thing' for Russia:

Not... mostly a good thing for Putin and his oligarchs

[Kerryd]

Make Russia Communist Again. All hail Supreme Leader Putin. 

Former KGB officer and loyal communist from 1975 until 1991 when the party was outlawed. 

The bit about immunity for former presidents is meant to protect himself whenever he finally decides to leave office, knowing full well his corruption will come to light eventually. 

He's not the first to use his power to basically make himself "leader for life". Erdogan did it in Turkey by staging a fake coup and then, using the Emergency Powers he wouldn't have otherwise had, he changed Turkey's constitution to allow him to serve indefinitely.
(The fake coup conveniently happened not long before Erdogan would have had to step down from power as he'd reached the term limits in both the Prime Minister and Presidential positions. Just like Putin in fact who has (had) also reached the maximum time he could hold either position.)

I think Mugabe in Zimbabwe and Chavez (before he died) in Venezuela also used their power to force constitutional changes to allow them to "serve" for as long as they wanted to.

So Putin has joined the illustrious ranks of Erdogan, Mugabe and Chavez as democratically elected leaders who managed to finagle themselves into lifetime dictatorship positions.

Yes, there are other world leaders like Kim in North Korea and Castro in Cuba that are also basically "rulers for life" but that was set up long before the current Kim/Castro took up the position and they weren't "elected" prior to becoming a "leader for life". Castro (Raul) is currently the "First Secretary of the Communist Party in Cuba", a position he took over when Fidel died. Cuba has a President - now - after a change in their constitution in 2019. The current president (who wasn't elected either) serves a maximum of 2 5 year terms. He could then of course become the First Secretary and continue ruling indefinitely.
(The President in Cuba answers to the First Secretary of the Communist Party so there is no mistaking who really runs the country.)

[sammieuk1]

That old constitutional amendments trick tried and tested by little men with big bank accounts ????

[Enoon]

2 hours ago, Kerryd said:

Make Russia Communist Again. All hail Supreme Leader Putin. 

 

 

Hopelessly out of date to imagine that Communism is the objective.

 

Nationalist Dictatorship and resurgence of Imperial Russian Empire is his aim.

 

Any collectivist vehicle will do.

 

His appeal is to the xenophobic, Nationalist, Christian, Monarchy nostalgic, conservative/right wing.

 

Pretty much the same demographic that installed and maintained Franco, as the "Supreme Caudillo" of the FET y de las JONS, in power.

 

Q: What is it about you people that makes you incapable of identifying collectivist ideologies as anything other than "Communist"?

 

A: You are propagandised, narrowly/ill read, and know no better?

 

 

 

 

Edited July 6, 2020 by Enoon

[Redline]

Trump’s wet dream 

[riclag]

15 minutes ago, Redline said:

Trump’s wet dream 

It seems you have it all wrong , no mention of The POTUS in this thread!

I'm sure you can find many threads to fodder over that mentions his name

Edited July 9, 2020 by riclag

[Redline]

5 minutes ago, riclag said:

It seems you have it all wrong , no mention of The POTUS in this thread!

I'm sure you can find many threads to fodder over that mentions his name

I’m sure