Russians grant Putin right to extend his rule until 2036 in landslide vote

Members of an electoral commission, carrying a mobile ballot box and documents and wearing protective gear, stand inside an elevator as they visit a regional hospital on the last day of a weeklong nationwide vote on constitutional reforms in Tver, Russia July 1, 2020. REUTERS/Tatyana Makeyeva

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russians opened the door to Vladimir Putin staying in power until 2036 by voting overwhelmingly for constitutional changes that will allow him to run again for president twice, but critics said the outcome was falsified on an industrial scale.

Official results published on Thursday, after 100% 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 after the current one ends in 2024.