VLADIMIR Putin has urged Russians to cast ballots in Sunday's election, which he is certain to win, saying the vote will shape the country’s future.
The Russian president said in a televised address that “the will of the people, the will of each Russian citizen, will determine the path the country will take”.
Putin, whose approval ratings top 80 per cent, is set to easily win another six-year term against seven challengers, but the Kremlin has been concerned about voter apathy and has sought to boost turnout to make his victory as impressive as possible.
He urged Russians to “use their right to choose the future for the great Russia that we all love”.
He warned that failure to cast a ballot would mean that “this decisive choice will be made without your opinion taken into account”.
On the final day of the campaign, the president visited a medical centre in St Petersburg, his home city.
The president has travelled across Russia, promising to raise wages, modernise crumbling
health care and education and
pour more funds into dilapidated infrastructure.
Putin’s main foe, opposition leader Alexei Navalny, was barred from the race because of a criminal conviction widely seen as politically motivated.
He has called for a boycott of
the vote.
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