Putin headed for victory in reform vote that could keep him in power until 2036

Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared to have secured his political future on Wednesday with 78 percent of votes counted supporting a controversial national referendum that could see the former KGB agent stay in power until 2036. The referendum proposed more than 200 constitutional amendments, one of which will see presidential term limits reset, allowing Putin to run for the job again in 2024 and in 2030 if he chooses. Official results, after 98% of ballots had been counted, showed that the former KGB officer who has ruled Russia for more than two decades as president or prime minister had easily won the right to run for two more six-year terms, Reuters reported.