Russia: Opposition Doubts Putin’s ‘Landslide’ Victory

It reported ballot stuffing and other cases of alleged fraud as the Kremlin pushed for high turnout to give greater legitimacy to Putin’s historic fourth term.

The Russian strongman ran against seven other candidates, but his most vocal critic Alexei Navalny was barred from the ballot for legal reasons and the final outcome was never in doubt.

“I see in this (result) the confidence and hope of our people,” Putin said in an address to crowds of supporters on a square next to the Kremlin after exit polls put him on track for a resounding victory.

“Our thoughts will turn to the future of our great country and the future of our children,” said the man who is already Russia’s longest-serving leader since Stalin.

About 107 million Russians were eligible to cast ballots and the central election commission said turnout was 60 percent three hours before polls closed in Moscow, after the authorities used both the carrot and the stick to boost participation.

According to central election commission data with half of votes counted, Putin took 75 percent of the vote, well ahead of his nearest competitor Communist Party candidate Pavel Grudinin at 13.2 percent.

Results for all other candidates, including former reality TV host Ksenia Sobchak and ultra-nationalist firebrand Vladimir Zhirinovsky were forecast to be in single figures.

The election was held as Russia faced increasing isolation on the world stage over a spy poisoning in Britain and a fresh round of US sanctions just as it gears up for the football World Cup in the summer.

Navalny — who called on his supporters to boycott the “fake” vote and sent over 33,000 observers across the country to see how official turnout figures differed from those of monitors — said there had been “unprecedented violations”.

His lawyer Ivan Zhdanov said the actual national turnout at 1700 GMT, when polls closed in Moscow, was 55 percent, according to data collected by monitors.

But the electoral commission dismissed most concerns, saying monitors sometimes misinterpret what they see.