Russian presidential election, 2018 (Dawn of Reform)

The Russian presidential election of 2018 is held on March 19 and April 8.
Incumbent President Vladimir Putin is eligible to seek a new term and has speculated a run for reelection, but has announced in November of 2017 that he will retire from politics. Instead, Putin urged United Russia to nominate Former President Dmitry Medvedev. Sergey Shoygu, widely speculated by the people as United Russia candidate, protested at the nominating convention that "Medvedev is too corrupt and unpopular to be elected." After the convention, Shoygu ran as an independent. This move, however, split the votes that could have allowed Medvedev to win in the first round, enabling opposition candidate Alexei Navalny to launch an effective campaign against Medvedev before the second round.
On April 8, Navalny defied the opinion polls and won against Medvedev. Many foreign leaders congratulated Navalny on his surprise victory and wished him success. The former opposition, communists and nationalists alike, celebrated Navalny's victory and expressed support in his anti-corruption and liberalization agenda.
==Background==
The President of Russia is elected with a two-round system. If no candidate secures a majority of votes in the first round, then a runoff will be held between the top-two candidates from the first round.
==Results==
===First Round===
Candidate 	Party 	Votes 	Vote %
Dmitry Medvedev 	United Russia 	35,122,017	47.29%
Alexey Navalny 	Independent 	12,410,423	16.71%
Sergey Shoygu 	Independent 	9,922,397 	13.36%
Vladimir Zhirinovsky	Liberal Democratic Party	8,845,492 	11.91%
Gennady Zyuganov 	Communist Party 	3,676,357 	4.95%
Sergey Mironov 	A Just Russia 	2,124,105 	2.86%
Grigory Yavlinsky 	Yabloko 	1,737,904 	2.33%
Rifat Shaykhutdinov 	Civic Platform 	436,828 	0.59%
Total 	Total 	74,275,523	100.00%
===Second Round===
Candidate 	Party 	Votes 	Vote %
Alexey Navalny 	Independent 	39,346,373	51.36%
Dmitry Medvedex	United Russia	37,256,836	48.64%
Total 	Total 	76,603,209	100.00%
Category:Russia
Category:Dawn of Reform
Category:Elections
Category:Politics