By Prensa Latina
Moscow : Nearly 108 million Russians with the right to vote will choose a new President for a mandate of four years (2008-2012), the third President in the recent history of Russia.
Elected in 2004 with 71.31 percent of the votes, Vladimir Putin will finish his second mandate on May 7, as established by the Russian Constitution, after two consecutive presidential mandates.
Russia is on its fifth presidential elections since the presidency was approved in a popular consulting in 1991.
With the disintegration of the Soviet Union in December 1991, then President for 15 Soviet republics Mijail Gorbachov, gave the lead to Boris Eltsin in June.
Eltsin was elected with 57.3 percent of the votes in a first electoral round, and repeated on July 3, 1996, with 53.83 percent, in a close dispute with Russian Communist Party leader Guennadi Ziuganov.
By his own will, Eltsin transferred presidential powers to then Head of Government Vladimir Putin on December 31, 1999.
Extraordinary elections on March 26, 2000, convoked by the Council of the Russian Federation (Senate) gave Putin a superiority of 52.94 percent of the votes.
Putin started his first presidential mandate on May 7, 2000, and returned to elections for a second mandate on March 14, 2004, getting a smashing victory with 71.31 percent of the votes, facing five other candidates.
The Russian Constitution forbids a third presidential postulation and Putin said he would not do anything to force constitutional modifications to remain as President of Russia, so the one who wins on March 2 will be the next Russian President.