Russia: Moscow sets up gift certificate raffle to entice referendum voters | Deutsche Welle
As the vote on constitutional reforms draws near in Russia, a senior city official in Moscow pledged over 2 million vouchers as prizes for referendum voters. “The certificates would be valid exclusively in the Moscow consumer service industry, restaurants, and trade companies,” official Alexei Nemeryuk was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency. Every Muscovite who votes in the referendum would “receive a code, and there will be a raffle for points.” “After the raffle, the people would receive points that they can use,” he added. Nemeryuk, who heads Moscow’s capital trade and services sector, said the raffle aims to stimulate the economy in the Russian capital. The city of 12.5 million people had faced weeks of lockdown while struggling with the coronavirus outbreak. The move could also serve to boost the turnout in the referendum. If adopted, the government-backed reforms would allow the current Russian president, Vladimir Putin, to stay in office until 2036. The vote was originally set for April 22, but the Kremlin was forced to postpone it because of the coronavirus.