Whereas the Russian Federation, as a member of the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, is bound by international commitments with regard to human rights and the rule of law; Whereas Article 81(3) of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, as enacted on December 25, 1993, holds that one and the same person cannot occupy the office of President of the Russian Federation for more than two consecutive terms ; Whereas Vladimir Putin has been President of the Russian Federation for two sets of consecutive terms on two occasions, the first lasting from May 7, 2000, to May 7, 2008, and the second, current, and final consecutive terms beginning May 7, 2012, and expiring on May 7, 2024; Whereas, on July 3, 2020, following votes in both chambers of the Federal Assembly and in regional legislatures and a nationwide popular vote, President Vladimir Putin signed Presidential Decree No. 445 enacting 206 amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation, including an amendment waiving the term limit for him personally and for Dmitry Medvedev, allowing him to seek 2 more 6-year Presidential terms after May 7, 2024; Whereas the enactment of constitutional amendments had been conditioned on approval of such amendments in a nationwide vote, referred to as all-Russia voting , that was held between June 25 and July 1, 2020, under the unprecedented conditions of the COVID–19 pandemic; Whereas the 2020 all-Russia voting was invented specifically for voting on Vladimir Putin’s constitutional amendments and was an ad hoc type of voting previously unknown in Russia; Whereas this voting was marked by widespread reports of organized voter coercion, multiple voting, ballot-stuffing, and violation of the secrecy of the ballot, and by one-sided media coverage in favor of the amendments, while opponents of the amendments were not given airtime in the media and had their campaign rallies prohibited and their websites blocked