Russia starts three-week pre-election debate

Moscow Feb 26 (IANS) A three-week pre-election debate kicked off on Monday in which Russian presidential candidates would present their election programmes on TV channels and radio stations to attract voters.

According to local reports five federal TV channels and three radio stations will allocate free airtime for the campaign. Seven candidates were expected to join the first TV debate on the Public Television of Russia broadcaster on Tuesday.

Incumbent President Vladimir Putin who is in his third term and running for another presidential tenure refused to take part in the debate Efe news reported.

Putin is widely expected to have a landslide victory as he is reported to enjoy a much higher approval rating than his rivals in total.

Russia s Central Election Commission said earlier that Putin will order representatives to present his election programmes in regional media.

A total of eight people including Pavel Grudinin from the Russian Communist Party and Vladimir Zhirinovsky head of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia have been officially confirmed to run for the country s presidential election on March 18.

--IANS
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