“The Venice Commission concluded that the 2020 constitutional amendments disproportionately strengthened the Russian presidency and that exempting the current and former presidents from the new two-term limit was an ad hominem amendment.”

Context. The official result was 78 percent yes on a 68 percent turnout (para. 15). Russian authorities replied that the exemption avoided retroactive application of the limit and that voters would decide in future elections (para. 54).