Russian President Vladimir Putin
ISTANBUL – President Vladimir Putin gears to rule Russia again for another term as he obtained 87 percent of votes in the recent presidential elections.
According to exit poll data announced by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center, Putin has secured overwhelming votes against his three contenders.
Communist Party’s Nikolai Kharitonov secured 4.6 percent of the votes while Vladislav Davankov of the New People Party and Leonid Slutsky, the leader of the LDPR (Liberal Democratic Party of Russia), got 4.2 and 3 percent, respectively.
Some 1.2 percent of the ballots were invalidated.
The Russian Public Opinion Research Center is a state-owned polling institution.
The elections were conducted both at polling stations and through remote electronic means for three days. Remote voting took place in a total of 29 regions, including Moscow.
The election was observed by 1,115 international observers and experts from 129 countries. Putin, who will serve a fresh six-year term, will take the oath of office after the official announcement of results and serve as Russia's president for the 5th time. (TASS)
