Scrapbook of the Wilted Candidates: The Agitation Stage of the 2024 Presidential Election Unfolded

The main feature of the current campaign is the so called "dry out" of the turn out. Everyone is participating in the "dry out" of the elections: the media, election administrators and even the candidates themselves. The campaign is practically unnoticeable; it is the most meaningless of all time observed. "Golos" movement came to this conclusion during its analysis of the campaigning stage of the 2024 presidential elections.

Main conclusions:

Candidates behave demonstratively passively. This is especially evident at the regional level, where elections are almost invisible. Even Vladimir Putin’s campaign, already the fifth in his presidential career, is less visible than all previous times: the amount of official campaigning is significantly lower, there is also no specific coherent message, and the basis of the real campaign is the activities of people who formally should have nothing to do with it. This, by the way, is contrary to current legislation.

The media, both state-owned and the remaining independent ones, are also «drying out» the elections. Moreover, this is done by both federal and regional media, both pro-government and independent. This is especially clearly visible on federal television channels. The amount of air time devoted to elections in the news programs of federal television channels is only 60% of the air time during the same period in 2018. And this time is devoted not only to candidates, but also to stories, for example, about the start of early voting in hard-to-reach areas.

In fact, everything is being done so that citizens do not notice the very fact of holding elections. The main bet is clearly on the administrative drive of controlled voters. The mobilization of forced voters is reaching a new level — during this campaign it was used not only at enterprises of state holdings, but also in private firms that are not directly related to the state. Coercion has become much more open and direct than five years ago, and new, technologically advanced ways of controlling turnout have emerged that are becoming increasingly difficult to circumvent. Even the Russian Central Election Commission stopped standing up for voters.

Both the media, the authorities, and the candidate Vladimir Putin himself are trying to replace his election campaign with a story about the president’s activities: for example, they are actively discussing the president’s message to the Federal Assembly. As a result, Vladimir Putin is mentioned seven times more often than all other registered candidates combined. And in terms of minutes of airtime, the gap will be even greater.

All this initially makes it impossible to form and express the free will of voters. The current elections will not be able to provide an idea of the real mood of citizens, and will not allow them to independently make decisions about the future of their country. The distance between citizens and decision-making about the fate of the country has become greater than ever.

Read more in our analytical report (in Russian)