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- A delegation from the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission has declared the Russian elections "free, fair and credible".
- Several African presidents have said they were ready to work following his landslide win at the polls.
- Putin joins Paul Kagame (99%) and Teodoro Obiang (99%) in the questionably high voter support club.
Western countries may not believe Russian President Vladimir Putin secured 87.8% of the vote from a record turnout of 77.5%, but these aren't strange numbers for African countries.
This week, those countries congratulated Putin on his achievement, vowing their continued friendship with Russia.
Putin (71) stood as an independent, faced with what critics called token opposition, which attracted only about a tenth of the vote.
That's not shocking in Africa, where Rwandan President Paul Kagame received 99% of the votes to extend his stay in power in 2017.
In 2022, Equatorial Guinea's Teodoro Obiang also registered a 99% win.
READ | Vladimir Putin warns the West: Russia is ready for nuclear war
Last year in Egypt, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi won with 89.6% of the vote. In Tanzania in 2020, the late John Magufuli won with 84%, and now Samia Suluhu Hassan is serving the remainder of Magafuli's term.
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission dispatched a delegation to the Russian elections, led by the organisation's chairperson Priscilla Chigumba.
In a statement, she said the Russian elections were free and fair.
She said:
"The [election observer] mission also commends the Russian Central Election Commission for managing the election efficiently and professionally. Therefore, we declare the election free, fair and credible," she said.
Zimbabwe was one of the first African countries to receive grain from Russia after the closure of the Black Sea Grain Initiative in 2023.
Burkina Faso is another recipient of Russian grain and a key ally of the country.
It cut ties with France after the coup that brought in Africa's youngest leader, Captain Ibrahim Traoré, 36.
Traoré said Putin's victory was a chance to "contribute to strengthening the already excellent relations between our countries for the happiness of the brave people of Burkina Faso and Russia".
Felix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo called the election an "eloquent testimony to the confidence of the Russian people in you [Putin]".
The Republic of Congo's Denis Sassou Nguesso said Putin's election showed that Russians were behind him as a wartime leader.
Nguesso extended his "full readiness" to work with Putin to strengthen ties for the benefit of the people of both countries.
Libyan Presidential Council Chair Mohamed al-Menfi said Putin had a significant role to play in regional and international relations for the sake of Russia.
"We are pleased to extend our sincere congratulations to you on the occasion of your re-election as president of the Russian Federation and wish you success in carrying out the tasks assigned to you, which will add value to regional and international relations," he said.
Mali weighed in with a message highlighting support for and friendship with Moscow.
"I extend my warm congratulations to president Putin for the renewed confidence of his people and wish him every success in fulfilling his high responsibilities. As a strategic and sincere partner of Mali, I reiterate our friendship to him," Mali's interim president Assimi Goita posted on X (formerly known as Twitter).
The News24 Africa Desk is supported by the Hanns Seidel Foundation. The stories produced through the Africa Desk and the opinions and statements that may be contained herein do not reflect those of the Hanns Seidel Foundation.
