White House says there was ‘nothing free or fair’ about Putin reelection – Washington Examiner

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.”

Navalny‘s supporters showed up at polling stations at noon to protest the Kremlin, a coordinated effort that the Russian dissident leader endorsed before he died. The protest, called “Noon Against Putin,” occurred on the last day of voting.

President Joe Biden has said Putin is to blame for Navalny’s death and pleaded with Congress for more funding for Ukraine to fight back against the Russian invasion of its territory.

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