DUSHANBE, March 5, 2012, Asia-Plus — Vladimir Putin has declared victory in Russia”s presidential elections, returning for a third term after spending the last four years as the country”s PM.
Two television exit polls, released after voting ended at 9 p.m. Moscow time (noon EST), forecast that Putin, currently the prime minister, would win 59.3 and 58.3 percent of the votes, easily enough to make a runoff against the second-place candidate unnecessary, Reuters reported.
His nearest rival, Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov, fell short of 20 percent in both exit polls. The other three candidates were in single digits.
Zyuganov said his party would not recognize the results of the election, calling it ““unfair and unworthy.”
“These elections cannot be considered legitimate in any way,” said Vladimir Ryzhkov, one of the leaders of the street protest movement, which was not represented in the election.
Meanwhile Putin”s campaign chief Stanislav Govorukhin described the poll as “the cleanest in Russian history.”
According to the BBC, the turnout was 58.3% by 18:00 Moscow time, considerably higher than in 2008 elections. Electoral officials forecast a final turnout of 62.3%.
Vladimir Putin told supporters at a rally in central Moscow they had won in an open and honest battle.
But opposition groups have reported widespread fraud, with many people said to have voted more than once. They have called for mass protests in central Moscow on Monday.
Meanwhile tens of thousands of supporters of Putin gathered with Russian flags and banners outside the Kremlin for a concert to celebrate his victory.
There is tight security in the city, with 6,000 extra police brought in from outside, the BBC reports.
Observer organisations said there had been thousands of violations including so-called carousel voting, with busloads of voters being driven around to different polling stations.
The alleged fraud came despite the presence of thousands of independent observers and web cameras at polling stations.
The protest organizers, who see Putin as an autocratic leader whose return to power will stymie hope of economic and political reforms, said their demonstrations would now grow, Reuters reported.
Despite the opposition, mainly among well-educated and relatively well-off young professionals, Putin”s support remains strong in the provinces and his victory had not been in doubt.
The partial results showed Putin won almost 100 percent of votes in the Chechnya region, with almost 100 percent turnout.
An Interior Ministry spokesman denied there had been any major violations. Election officials also dismissed reports of widespread fraud in the December 4 parliamentary vote that sparked the protests, Reuters said.
