Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced his renewed candidacy in next year’s presidential election, as had been expected, Russian state media reported on Friday. Putin had announced his intention to run for a fifth time in the March 17 election at the request of military officials, according to the reports. He made the announcement at a ceremony in the Kremlin honouring Russian heroes. The 71-year-old head of state had the Russian constitution amended specifically so that he could run again. The central election commission had previously officially confirmed the date for the vote.