Vladimir Putin is set to return to power in Russia for another term as the latest trends of the presidential poll showed he is leading with 87.33 percent of votes.
The figure was revealed by the Russian Central Election Commission after processing 99.01 percent of ballots.
Nikolay Kharitonov, the chairman of the lower house Far East and Arctic development committee, has received 4.31 percent of votes, Leonid Slutsky, the chairman of the lower house international affairs committee – 3.19 percent, lower house Deputy Chairman Vladislav Davankov – 3.79 percent, the data showed as reported by Sputnik news agency.
Putin thanks voters
Putin thanked all Russians who came to the polling stations and voted in the presidential election.
“First of all, I want to thank the citizens of Russia. We are all one team. [I want to thank] all the citizens of Russia who came to the polling stations and voted,” Putin was quoted as saying by Sputnik at his election headquarters.
The three-day election process, which began on Friday, ensured Putin extended tenure for another term.
With his term now extended till at least 2030, Putin, who first came to power in 2000, ruling for two terms. He has been the President of the country since 2012 and is now one of the longest-serving Kremlin leaders, behind Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, who stayed in office for 30 years, from 1922 to 1952.
Global leaders react to Russian election
Amid the ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflict, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky criticised Putin and called him a ‘dictator’.
“These days, the Russian dictator imitates another “elections.” Everyone in the world understands that this person, like many others throughout history, has become sick with power and will stop at nothing to rule forever,” he said.
Zelensky said: “There is no evil he would not do to maintain his personal power. And no one in the world would have been safeguarded from this.”
“This imitation of ‘elections’ has no legitimacy and cannot have any. This person must end up on the dock in The Hague. This is what we must ensure. Anyone in the world who values life and decency,” he said.
Germany described the election process as ‘pseudo’.
“The pseudo-election in #Russia is neither free nor fair, the result will surprise nobody. Putin’s rule is authoritarian, he relies on censorship, repression & violence. The “election“ in the occupied territories of #Ukraine are null and void & another breach of international law,” German Foreign Ministry posted on X.
UK Foreign Minister David Cameron said Russia did not conduct a ‘free and fair’ election.
He wrote on X: “The polls have closed in Russia, following the illegal holding of elections on Ukrainian territory, a lack of choice for voters and no independent OSCE monitoring.”
He added: “This is not what free and fair elections look like.”
Alexei Navalny factor
Supporters of Putin’s critic Alexei Navalny, who died in prison recently, staged symbolic protests during the election process.
Their “Noon against Putin” initiative meant that long queues of voters turned out in Russian cities including Moscow and St Petersburg and outside many embassies abroad, but it was never going to have any impact on the result, reported BBC.
What do we know about Navalny’s death?
Alexei Navalny, 47, died in an Arctic prison on February 16, 2024.
He was serving a 19-year term.