Russian President Vladimir Putin, running for a new six-year term, has said that past U.S. elections had been rigged by postal voting

Russian President Vladimir Putin, running for a new six-year term, has said that past U.S. elections had been rigged by postal voting, per Reuters.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, seeking reelection for a new six-year term in an election criticized by opponents as a mockery of democracy, asserted on Tuesday that previous U.S. elections had been manipulated through postal voting.

Putin claimed, "In the United States, past elections were manipulated through postal voting ... they purchased ballots for $10, completed them, and deposited them into mailboxes without any oversight from observers, and that's it." However, he did not offer any evidence to support this statement.

Critics of Putin argue that the upcoming March election in Russia lacks genuine competition, as the president holds unquestioned power, and his primary opponent, Alexei Navalny, is serving a sentence of over 30 years in prison on charges he contends were fabricated.

They contend that the use of electronic voting opens the door for authorities to manipulate the vote in Putin's favor without being detected.