Russian Parliament Approves Constitutional Amendments Enabling Putin To Potentially Remain President Till 2036

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday (10 March) told the country’s Parliament that he has not ruled out running for President again beyond 2024 when his term ends, reports BBC.

However, any extension given to him must be approved by the Constitutional Court, Putin said. Meanwhile, one MP has proposed "resetting to zero" the number of presidential terms.

According to the report, if the move is approved, Putin could remain President of Russia until 2036, by winning two more six-year terms.

Putin has been in power for 20 years and when his first two terms had ended he served as Prime Minister from 2008-2012, without violating the two-term rule. During this time his close ally Dmitry Medvedev was the president.

The amendments were put forth on Tuesday (10 March) by Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space and a Putin supporter, and have been passed by the Russian Parliament.

The "reset to zero" proposal would mean "removing the restriction for any person, any citizen, including the current president, and allowing them to take part in elections in the future, naturally in open and competitive elections", Putin said in his speech, and it would come in place if citizens support it and the Constitutional Court upholds it.

Russia will hold a "public vote" on 22 April to decide the future of the constitutional changes that could alter the balance of power between the presidency and parliament.

Putin gave a speech on Tuesday, and said, "a strong presidency is absolutely essential", but he added that the Duma "should get wider powers". He, however, ruled out Western-style parliamentary system saying that "for years in some European countries they cannot form a government".

(With inputs from IANS)