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Change Your Life! |
Putin
wins presidency |
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News
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March 28, 2000
Moscow,
Mar 27: Vladimir Putin's election as president was hailed Monday as the
start of a new age in Russia even though the new master of the Kremlin has
yet to spell out how he will handle the daunting challenge of restoring
political order and invigorating the ailing economy, reports AP. Little
known and a political outsider, one of the first tasks of Russia's second
democratically elected president will be to choose a prime minister, come up
with specific proposals to revive the
economy, and clear corruption out of the government. The
presidential inauguration is to take place in early May. Dmitry Kozak, the
government chief of staff, told the Interfax news agency Monday that a new
prime minister would not be named until after the inauguration. "The
government will be formed by the head of state and the prime minister",
Kozak was quoted as saying, adding, "New people are likely to appear.
" Other
senior government officials indicated that Putin intended to forge new
policies; Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said “correctives" would be
made in Russia's foreign policy now that Putin has been elected.
The
former KGB spy has a full agenda. He must confront the ongoing war against
rebels in the breakaway republic of Chechnya and take into account the
strong support of a nearly a third of the electorate who voted for his
Communist opponent. With
95.51 per cent of the vote counted in Sunday's presidential election, Putin
led with 52.64 per cent. Communist candidate Gennacty Zyuganov was second
with 29.34 per cent and liberal Grigory Yavlinsky third with 5.84 per cent.
The other eight candidates lagged far behind. World
leaders sent congratulations, and Putin spoke by telephone Monday with
President Jiang Zemin of China and Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Putin's
victory came as a relief to many Russians after the rule of former President
Boris Yeltsin, whose unpredictability, poor health and allegations of
corruption within his family contributed to his political demise. A
"time of political adventurists and experimenters" is over in
Russia, said former Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin, whose abrupt
dismissal by Yeltsin in March 1998 set off two years of political
instability. “Putin's
is a man who gets down to work in earnest, a man who will be able to
establish order and discipline and speed up economic development,"
Chernomyrdin told Interfax. Despite
Zyuganov's stronger than expected showing, analysts said Putin had gained
Support on traditional Communist turf and benefited from apathy among voters
who in earlier elections had supported nationalists and reformers. "There
is a popular longing for a person who would come and satisfy everyone. That
has happened to Yeltsin before, and it's taking place now," said Dmitry
Dreshkin, chief analyst of the Central Election Commission. No
serious voting violations were reported, either by Russian or international
election observers. Bjorn von der Esch, a member of the observer mission
from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, said that the
vote was "free and fair." However, an OSCE statement expressed
concern about media bias in both private and government-controlled media. Putin
has promised to restore Russia's international and military might, fight
economic and political corruption, revive Russia's economy, as well as
battle poverty and social injustice that have contributed to continuing
support for the Communists. Although
Putin managed to avoid being forced into a runoff vote
against Zyuganov, his victory was less than the huge win that the former KGB
officer had sought. Acknowledging
the scale of the problems facing him, Putin said early Monday fie would not
make any promises of quick improvements. "The
level of expectations is very high - people are tired and Even
before the election outcome was clear, Zyuganov accused the government of
falsifying the results, saying the Communist vote was more than 40 per cent. 'They
have set up a zone of blanket fraud to cheat citizens," he said. Putin
acknowledge the Communists had done well despite their cash-strapped
campaign and that his government would have to take into account popular
discontent. He saw he would consider bringing opposition groups into the
government if they shared his views.
The
tough, man-of-action image that Putin cultivates appeals to many Russians,
tired of the uncertainty of the final years of Yeltsin. Source: The Daily Star
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