MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia’s upper house of parliament voted on Thursday to set the date for Russia’s presidential election for March 17, 2024.

The decision was passed unanimously by 162 votes in the Federation Council.

“With this decision, we are effectively launching the start of the election campaign,” Valentina Matviyenko, head of the Federation Council, said.

She added that for the first time residents of the parts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhya and Kherson regions of Ukraine annexed by Russia would take part in the vote.

“By choosing a head of state together, we fully share the common responsibility and common destiny of our fatherland,” Matviyenko said.

President Vladimir Putin has not yet officially announced his intention to run for a new six-year presidential term.

(Reporting by Filipp Lebedev; editing by Guy Faulconbridge)

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