Presidential candidate Vladimir Putin has won 87.26 percent of the vote based on 60 percent of the ballots counted, the Russian Central Election Commission announced.
According to the votes counted so far, candidate Nikolai Haritonov secured 4.18 percent, Vladislav Davankov garnered 3.99 percent, and Leonid Slutsky received 3.12 percent of the vote.
RIA Novosti reports that Putin received between 88 and 95 percent of the votes in four Ukrainian regions annexed by Russia in 2022, and also 87.4 percent of online votes, excluding Moscow and Kaliningrad.
“My dear friends, I am delighted to be here tonight with my comrades and like-minded people. History repeats itself, everything comes full circle, and we are all comrades. We are one team. I want to thank all the citizens of Russia who went to the polls and voted,” Putin stated.
Putin secured more than 87 percent of the vote, marking the best result for a presidential candidate in Russia’s post-Soviet history, according to an exit poll conducted by the Public Opinion Foundation (FOM).
The initial official results have confirmed the accuracy of this poll.
Photo: dzen.ru, Jedinnaia Rossija” (Єди́ная Росси́я)