Vladimir Putin Decisively Re-elected as Russian President – Preliminary Results
MOSCOW –Incumbent Russian leader Vladimir Putin is set to secure a resounding victory in the Russian presidential election, according to partial results made public by the electoral commission.
Vladimir Putin is now leading with 76% percent of the vote, well above the simple majority needed to avoid a run-off.
At the 2012 presidential elections, Putin scored 63.60% of votes.
Putin speaks from His Election campaign HQ after presidential election results announced
President Putin made an address in his electoral campaign headquarters after election results were announced.
He expressed gratitude to all his supporters and voters, stating that the election results clearly indicate that the people support his political course, despite the hard times Russia recently went through.
Speaking with the reporters at his HQ, Putin addressed the hottest political issues. The president commented on the Skripal case and the accusations the UK has raised against Russia. Putin dismissed them, stating that it was “nonsense and absurd to claim that Russia would do anything like that before the elections and the World Cup.”
Russia’s leader condemned the situation in Ukraine, stating that the Kiev’s decision to block Russian diplomatic facilities and prevent voters from accessing polling stations was a clear violation of international laws.
Moments before his speech in the HQ, Russia’s president made a brief appearance at the ‘Russia. Sevastopol. Crimea’ concert in Red Square, marking the anniversary of Crimea’s reunification with Russia.
“Dear friends, thank you, that on this frosty Moscow night we gathered here in the capital’s heart. Thank you for your support,” Putin told the audience. “I want to address those who gathered in Moscow and the supporters all across the territory of our enormous country. Thank you very much for the result! You are our joint team, and I’m a member of your team.”
Russia’s president expressed hopes for fruitful work and success in the future, stressing the importance of national unity and securing the trust of those who voted for other candidates. Prior to leaving the stage to applause, Putin led the crowd in a chant of: “Russia! Russia!”
Putin is Popular with Russians Because He Stabilized the Country’ – Professor
Radio Sputnik spoke with Dr. Anuradha Chenoy, professor at the Centre for Russian and Central Asian Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University.
About allegations from mainstream media that the elections were unfair, Chenoy said I don’t think the elections are unfair; one has to see the kind of political culture that has developed in Russia, ever since the independent Russia, in which the political parties themselves have a weakness.
He added that in a democracy, generally a very strong multi-party system emerges, but that has not been the case in Russia. President Putin and his party do have an edge over the others, but it would be good if there were more, stronger political parties but that takes time.
Democracies take ages to develop, so I don’t think one can blame Russia or President Putin for that kind of law, according to Chenoy.
First-time Communist Party candidate Pavel Grudinin is running second with 15 percent, while veteran nationalist politician Vladimir Zhirinovsky, who first ran against Boris Yeltsin in 1991, rounds out the top three with about seven percent.
None of the other five candidates is on track to receive more than two percent of the vote.
The early results are in line with exit-polls conducted by Russian polling agencies FOM, which predicted Putin would take 77 percent of the vote, and VCIOM, which forecast a final share of 73.9 percent for the current president.
Ella Pamfilova, head of the Russian Central Election Commission, has said that there were no major violations during the vote, and that only “minor and local complaints” were received.
Vladimir Putin is widely expected to address his supporters at a massive anniversary rally in Moscow’s Red Square, dedicated to Crimea voting to become a part of Russia four years ago.
Putin was first elected to the Kremlin in 2000, and again four years later. Constitutionally barred from serving more than two consecutive terms, he did not run in 2008, the same year presidential terms were extended from four years to six years. Putin won 63.6 percent of the vote in 2012, and, if the early results are confirmed, he will now stay in his post until 2024, the year he turns 72.
SPUTNIK, RT
R.S