Russia’s ruling party backs Putin’s reelection bid while a pro-peace candidate clears first hurdle

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian state new agencies have reported that delegates from Russia’s ruling party have unanimously backed President Vladimir Putin’s bid for reelection at a party conference in Moscow. The move on Sunday came just a day after supporters formally nominated the Kremlin leader on Saturday to run in the 2024 presidential election as an independent. A little-known Russian presidential hopeful who calls for peace in Ukraine inched closer towards formally registering as a candidate. She secured a nomination from a group of more than 500 supporters as required by Russian electoral law from those not running on a party ticket. Both Putin and former journalist Yekaterina Duntsova will now need to gather signatures from at least 300,000 supporters across the country.