With 99.43% of ballots counted as of 7:00 a.m. Moscow time (4:00 a.m. GMT), Russian presidential race frontrunner and incumbent President Vladimir Putin leads the 2024 presidential race with 87.32% of the vote, according to information published on the Russian Central Election Commission’s official website.
Communist Party candidate Nikolay Kharitonov is the runner-up with 4.32%, followed by the New People party candidate Vladislav Davankov with 3.79%. LDPR candidate Leonid Slutsky is fourth, garnering 3.19%.
AFP reports; Russia’s electoral commission said on Monday that President Vladimir Putin’s “record”
re-election result showed the country was united behind the longtime leader.
Official results from the three-day ballot, in which all credible opposition was barred, show 71-year-old Putin winning a landslide with almost 76 million votes.
“This is a record figure,” electoral chief Ella Pamfilova said after more than 99 percent of votes had been counted.
“The turnout is a record — an unprecedented 77.44 percent. This has never happened in the history of the new Russia,” she added.
“We proved to ourselves that we are an independent nation ... and in the face of the West we showed that we are united. We are proud of this,” she said.
Putin was all but guaranteed to win re-election, having silenced or imprisoned all his major opponents.
The Kremlin had cast the election as a moment for Russians to throw their weight behind the full-scale military operation in Ukraine, now in its third year.
China congratulates Putin on election victory
Key Russian ally China on Monday congratulated President Vladimir Putin on his election victory.
“China expresses its congratulations on this,” foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said when asked about the vote at a regular press conference.
“China and Russia are each other’s largest neighbours and comprehensive strategic cooperative partners in the new era,” he added.
With 99 percent of polling stations having submitted results, Putin had secured 87.33 percent of all votes cast, official election data showed Monday, according to state news agency RIA.
It is a record victory in a presidential election where he faced no genuine competition.
“We firmly believe that under the strategic guidance of President Xi Jinping and President Putin, China-Russia relations will continue to move forward,” Lin said, noting that this year marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the countries.
“The two heads of state will continue to maintain close exchanges, lead the two countries to continue to uphold longstanding good-neighbourly friendship, deepen comprehensive strategic coordination, and promote the continuous development of China-Russia relations in the new era,” Lin said.
Iran congratulates Putin on ‘decisive’ election win
Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi on Monday congratulated his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on his “decisive” win in the presidential election, state media reported.
“The President of the Islamic Republic of Iran in a message sincerely congratulated Vladimir Putin on his decisive victory and re-election as the President of the Russian Federation,” state news agency IRNA reported.