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Putin Romps to Victory in Kremlin Vote
Presidential elections in Russia (2012)
© RIA Novosti. Alexei Nikolskiy
22:17 04/03/2012
MOSCOW, March 4 (Marc Bennetts, RIA Novosti)
Vladimir Putin secured a third term in the Kremlin on Sunday after
recording a resounding victory at Russia's presidential elections.
Exit polls gave Putin almost 60 percent of the vote. His nearest
rival, Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov, took 17.7 percent,
state pollster VTsIOM said.
`I can not recognize these elections as fair, honest and worthy,'
Zyuganov said. "I see no reason to congratulate anyone."
No other candidate gained more than 10 percent. Turnout was just over
56 percent, election officials said.
Some 110,000 Putin supporters celebrated near Red Square as the
results of exit polls were released, police said.
"He's an ideal president!" a young woman said at the celebration,
which was shown live on state television.
The first preliminary official results are expected by midnight Sunday
(20:00 GMT) or in the early hours Monday.
New President
Putin, 59, will be inaugurated as new president in May and will serve
for six years, not four as previously. Putin was Russia's president
between 2000 and 2008, but was forced to step down by the
Constitution, when he handed over to his hand-picked successor, Dmitry
Medvedev.
© RIA Novosti.
Russian presidential elections
The elections took place to the backdrop of mass demonstrations that
were triggered by allegations of vote fraud in favor of Putin's United
Russia party at December's parliamentary polls.
None of the candidates opposing Putin represented the burgeoning
protest movement, although all have - to some extent - expressed
sympathy with its demands, which include a rerun of last year's vote.
There was a heavy police presence in downtown Moscow, with trucks full
of riot police parked near major metro stations. Major protests
against Putin's re-election are expected for Monday evening.
Zyuganov urged earlier protesters "to show restraint and comply with the law."
VOTING
Putin voted earlier on Sunday with his wife, Lyudmila, at a polling
station at the Russian Academy of Sciences.
"I had a good sleep, did some exercise, and then came here," he said.
"I'm hoping for a good turnout, of course."
Shortly after Putin left, topless activists with the words "I steal
for Putin" painted on their breasts burst into the polling station
shouting anti-government slogans. The women - who said they were from
the Ukrainian Femen protest group - were detained by police.
Election officials said no major violations have taken place at the vote.
But Russia's largest independent election watchdog, Golos, listed on
its website almost 3,000 violations. These could not be independently
verified.
Putin had ordered web cameras installed at 91,000 of Russia's 96,000
polling stations in an attempt to prevent the elections being marred
by more vote fraud allegations.
Almost 700 international observers are in Russia to monitor the
elections, including from the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe, the Commonwealth of Independent States
Council's International Assembly, and the Parliamentary Assembly of
the Council of Europe.
Presidential elections in Russia (2012)
© RIA Novosti. Alexei Nikolskiy
22:17 04/03/2012
MOSCOW, March 4 (Marc Bennetts, RIA Novosti)
Vladimir Putin secured a third term in the Kremlin on Sunday after
recording a resounding victory at Russia's presidential elections.
Exit polls gave Putin almost 60 percent of the vote. His nearest
rival, Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov, took 17.7 percent,
state pollster VTsIOM said.
`I can not recognize these elections as fair, honest and worthy,'
Zyuganov said. "I see no reason to congratulate anyone."
No other candidate gained more than 10 percent. Turnout was just over
56 percent, election officials said.
Some 110,000 Putin supporters celebrated near Red Square as the
results of exit polls were released, police said.
"He's an ideal president!" a young woman said at the celebration,
which was shown live on state television.
The first preliminary official results are expected by midnight Sunday
(20:00 GMT) or in the early hours Monday.
New President
Putin, 59, will be inaugurated as new president in May and will serve
for six years, not four as previously. Putin was Russia's president
between 2000 and 2008, but was forced to step down by the
Constitution, when he handed over to his hand-picked successor, Dmitry
Medvedev.
© RIA Novosti.
Russian presidential elections
The elections took place to the backdrop of mass demonstrations that
were triggered by allegations of vote fraud in favor of Putin's United
Russia party at December's parliamentary polls.
None of the candidates opposing Putin represented the burgeoning
protest movement, although all have - to some extent - expressed
sympathy with its demands, which include a rerun of last year's vote.
There was a heavy police presence in downtown Moscow, with trucks full
of riot police parked near major metro stations. Major protests
against Putin's re-election are expected for Monday evening.
Zyuganov urged earlier protesters "to show restraint and comply with the law."
VOTING
Putin voted earlier on Sunday with his wife, Lyudmila, at a polling
station at the Russian Academy of Sciences.
"I had a good sleep, did some exercise, and then came here," he said.
"I'm hoping for a good turnout, of course."
Shortly after Putin left, topless activists with the words "I steal
for Putin" painted on their breasts burst into the polling station
shouting anti-government slogans. The women - who said they were from
the Ukrainian Femen protest group - were detained by police.
Election officials said no major violations have taken place at the vote.
But Russia's largest independent election watchdog, Golos, listed on
its website almost 3,000 violations. These could not be independently
verified.
Putin had ordered web cameras installed at 91,000 of Russia's 96,000
polling stations in an attempt to prevent the elections being marred
by more vote fraud allegations.
Almost 700 international observers are in Russia to monitor the
elections, including from the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe, the Commonwealth of Independent States
Council's International Assembly, and the Parliamentary Assembly of
the Council of Europe.