The White House slammed Russian President Vladimir Putin‘s latest reelection on Monday, saying there was “nothing free or fair” about it.
Putin won his fifth presidential election over the weekend, securing the Russian leader another six years in office and tightening his grip over the country in an election that offered voters no viable alternatives to his rule.
National security adviser Jake Sullivan said the results were “preordained” during the White House press briefing.
“Nothing about the election outcome was unpredictable because Putin had closed the political space, had locked up political opponents, some of his political opponents had tragically died,” Sullivan said, “and so there was nothing free or fair about this election, and the outcome was preordained.”
Russia’s Central Election Commission said Putin obtained nearly 88% of the vote in early returns. The election
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