Russian President Vladimir Putin has shown Africans that they can "defend the value of a nation, the value of a people, without the oppression of that people," Oumar MC Koné, president of Malian political party Bloc for Recovery and Development of Mali (BRDM), told Sputnik Africa.
Koné made his remarks regarding the first results of the Russian presidential election. For him, the participation rate exceeding 74% "demonstrates an impulse of patriotism of the Russians towards their authorities, especially in times of crisis."
"It is the love of the Russian nation that leads them to vote so massively. This proves enough that democracy is not only Western. Democracy is when the people adhere to the ideals and ideas of those who are at the head of the state, the nation, to bring them to good port," he noted.
Putin won almost 88% of the votes with over 99% of the ballots counted, according to Russia's Central Election Commission data.