On video: Residents of a village near St. Petersburg vote for the presidential elections in Russia/Reuters
Preliminary results in the Russian presidential election were published this evening (Sunday), according to which the incumbent President Vladimir Putin leads with approximately 88% - and is expected to continue his term for another six years.
In doing so, he will overtake Stalin as the longest-serving leader of Russia.
The elections started last Friday, and lasted for about three days.
They were also held in the occupied Ukrainian territories, which the federation defines as the "new territories in the country".
"There have never been elections in Russia that were not as transparent as these" - claimed Stanislav Andreychuk, who heads an independent body that monitors the presidential elections.
According to him, the fact that this is the first time that Russia uses electronic voting, and that the elections last three days, are used to prevent a fair vote.
"These are the most closed, most secret elections in the history of Russia," Andreychuk said, referring to the period after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Russian President Vladimir Putin at a meeting with the National Security Council, March 1, 2024/Reuters
On the first day of the elections, a particularly high voter turnout was recorded, which Andreychuk claims reflects pressure on the public from the employers to go out and vote.
"People are going to vote first thing in the morning because their bosses are forcing them. It's very convenient to follow the voters because it's a working day," he said.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin at a meeting with the National Security Council, March 1, 2024/Reuters
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