April 02, 2008	Wednesday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 24, 1429

MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin will be voted in as prime minister immediately after the inauguration of Dmitry Medvedev as president, the speaker of parliament said on Tuesday, news agencies reported.

“Why put it off,” Duma speaker Boris Gryzlov told journalists on Tuesday when asked if confirmation could take place on May 8, one day after Medvedev’s inauguration, Interfax news agency reported.

Under the Russian constitution, the president puts forward a candidate for prime minister. The Duma, or lower house of parliament, then has to vote to approve the candidate.

“I think it is fully realistic that the senators, deputies will meet... and support the candidacy of Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin,” Gryzlov was quoted as saying, referring to the May 8 date.

Putin is expected to wield significant powers as prime minister under Medvedev, a close ally who won a landslide majority in a March 2 presidential election.—AFP