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Russia election: Putin wins fourth term with record vote

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Russia election: Putin wins fourth term with record vote
Vladimir Putin gestures while speaking at a youth forum 'Russia, Land of Opportunity' in Moscow.

Moscow - Putin recorded his best election performance with 76.67 per cent of the vote.

By IANS

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Published: Mon 19 Mar 2018, 5:44 AM

Last updated: Mon 19 Mar 2018, 10:22 PM

Vladimir Putin was Monday set for another six years in power after his landslide victory in Russia's presidential election but so far only close allies have congratulated him as Moscow's relations with the West disintegrate.
Putin, who has ruled Russia for almost two decades, recorded his best election performance with 76.67 per cent of the vote but rejected the possibility of staying in power indefinitely.
The opposition said the results were rigged, reporting ballot stuffing and other cases of alleged fraud as the Kremlin pushed for a high turnout to give greater legitimacy to Putin's historic fourth term.
Putin, who has extended his power until at least 2024 and is already Russia's longest-serving leader since Stalin, ruled out remaining president for life.

In a short speech to thousands of supporters near Red Square late on Sunday, Putin thanked people who voted for him, saying that his election result was "very decent."

 
According to BBC, the scale of victory -- which had been widely predicted -- was a marked increase in his share of the vote from 2012, when he won 64 per cent.
As of 1500 GMT, the voter turnout stood at 59.93 per cent, slightly up from 58.3 percent in 2012, Xinhua quoted the CEC as saying.
Valentina Matvienko, Russian parliament's upper house speaker, said it was "unprecedented" in terms of both the voter turnout and support for Putin during all his tenures.

A Russian state exit poll gave him 73.9 per cent of the vote, easily defeating his closest competitor. Main opposition leader Alexei Navalny was barred from the race.
Earlier in the day, several media reports suggested that the voter turnout in Russian presidential race was set to top 2012 figures.
The turnout was on course to surpass figures registered in the previous ballot in 2012, an official from the electoral committee said.

Nikolay Bulayev of the Central Election Commission said 34 per cent of eligible voters had made their way to polling stations by midday Moscow time, nine hours before counting was due to begin in central Russia.


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