Russians overwhelmingly approved a package of constitutional changes in a nationwide vote, partial results showed on July 1. This allows President Vladimir Putin to potentially extend his two-decade rule until 2036. With 60 per cent of ballots counted after the end of seven days of voting, 76.9 per cent of voters had supported the reforms, the central election commission said. Top Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny slammed the results as a "huge lie" which don't reflect real public opinion. Amendments had been passed weeks ago by Russia's parliament and copies of the new constitution were already on sale in bookshops. However, Putin had said voter approval was essential to give them legitimacy. Reforms include conservative and populist measures, like guaranteed minimum pensions & an effective ban on gay marriage. Initially planned for April 22, the referendum was postponed by the COVID-19 pandemic but rescheduled after Putin said the epidemic had peaked and officials began reporting lower numbers of new cases. In a final appeal to voters on June 30, Putin said the changes were needed to ensure Russia's future "stability, security, prosperity.”
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