Putin heads for win despite poll protests
Source: Agencies |
March 5, 2012, Monday
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VLADIMIR Putin sought a convincing victory in Russia's presidential election yesterday, but faced allegations of widespread fraud.
Opponents said the voting was "heavily skewed" to help Putin return to the Kremlin after four years as prime minister and vowed to step up three months of protests against him.
But Putin's victory was not in doubt in voting from the Pacific coast to western borders with the European Union, and from the Arctic north to the frontier with China.
The man credited by many Russians with rebuilding the country's strong image and overseeing an economic boom in his 2000-08 presidency hoped to win outright in the first round and portray this as a strong mandate for six more years in power.
"I think the elections will be legitimate, fair, and Putin will win in the first round, unless the court rules otherwise," Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov was shown saying confidently on Internet and cable television channel TV Dozhd.
Early signs were that turnout would be high. Officials said almost 48 percent of voters had cast their ballots by 3pm Moscow time, more than at this stage in the 2008 vote that elected Putin's ally, Dmitry Medvedev, to the Kremlin.
The vote pits Putin against four weaker candidates - communist Gennady Zyuganov, nationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky, former parliamentary speaker Sergei Mironov and billionaire metals tycoon Mikhail Prokhorov.
"I voted for Putin because he was a good president and our children were looked after and that's all. That's how I feel," said Maria Fedotova, a 92-year-old grandmother wrapped up in fur coat and hat, flanked by relatives.
Opinion polls showed Putin, who has remained Russia's dominant leader despite stepping aside in 2008 because he was barred from a third straight term by the law, would win 59 to 66 percent of the vote, enough to avoid a second-round runoff.
Putin, who voted in Moscow with his wife Lyudmila in a rare joint public appearance, dropped his ballot paper before voting and had to pick it up. Asked by reporters whether he ruled out a runoff, he said it would "depend on the voters."
Vote monitors from the opposition and bloggers posted allegations of election rigging countrywide.
An Interior Ministry spokesman said there had been no major violations. In an attempt to allay fears of vote rigging, Putin had ordered 182,000 web cameras to be installed at 91,000 polling stations.
Opponents said the voting was "heavily skewed" to help Putin return to the Kremlin after four years as prime minister and vowed to step up three months of protests against him.
But Putin's victory was not in doubt in voting from the Pacific coast to western borders with the European Union, and from the Arctic north to the frontier with China.
The man credited by many Russians with rebuilding the country's strong image and overseeing an economic boom in his 2000-08 presidency hoped to win outright in the first round and portray this as a strong mandate for six more years in power.
"I think the elections will be legitimate, fair, and Putin will win in the first round, unless the court rules otherwise," Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov was shown saying confidently on Internet and cable television channel TV Dozhd.
Early signs were that turnout would be high. Officials said almost 48 percent of voters had cast their ballots by 3pm Moscow time, more than at this stage in the 2008 vote that elected Putin's ally, Dmitry Medvedev, to the Kremlin.
The vote pits Putin against four weaker candidates - communist Gennady Zyuganov, nationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky, former parliamentary speaker Sergei Mironov and billionaire metals tycoon Mikhail Prokhorov.
"I voted for Putin because he was a good president and our children were looked after and that's all. That's how I feel," said Maria Fedotova, a 92-year-old grandmother wrapped up in fur coat and hat, flanked by relatives.
Opinion polls showed Putin, who has remained Russia's dominant leader despite stepping aside in 2008 because he was barred from a third straight term by the law, would win 59 to 66 percent of the vote, enough to avoid a second-round runoff.
Putin, who voted in Moscow with his wife Lyudmila in a rare joint public appearance, dropped his ballot paper before voting and had to pick it up. Asked by reporters whether he ruled out a runoff, he said it would "depend on the voters."
Vote monitors from the opposition and bloggers posted allegations of election rigging countrywide.
An Interior Ministry spokesman said there had been no major violations. In an attempt to allay fears of vote rigging, Putin had ordered 182,000 web cameras to be installed at 91,000 polling stations.
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