It's about how he can maintain his power even with protests for 20 years, unlike Trump.
Keep in mind that the constituent element of any democracy are elections by majority vote, not street protest movements. Otherwise, we might also start calling Biden an autocrat, as he managed to assume office despite extensive Trumpist rioting.
I think the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation guarantees Putin's wins.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Election_Commission_%28Russia%29Controlling any election commission means controlling voting results.
North Korea has mandatory voting every 5 years without other candidates than those who are approved by the government.
It is used to check people's approval of the candidates and population change.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elections_in_North_Korea