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Medvedev wins landslide in Russian election: preliminary results
21 hours ago
MOSCOW (AFP) — Dmitry Medvedev, President Vladimir Putin's hand-picked successor, won a landslide victory in Russian presidential polls on Sunday according to preliminary results, as opponents charged the vote was rigged.
Medvedev had won 69.4 percent of the vote based on results from 75 percent of the country's polling stations, the election commission said.
As results rolled in from around the world's largest country, Putin and Medvedev strolled side by side onto Red Square where they joined a raucous celebration of what both men described as a convincing victory.
Medvedev, 42, used the occasion to reaffirm his commitment to pursuing the policy course set by his mentor.
"Together we can continue the course set by President Putin.... Together we'll go further. Together we'll win. Hurrah!" declared Medvedev, dressed in jeans and a leather jacket, to a roar of approval from supporters gathered in the driving sleet.
Later Medvedev offered reassurances that he will be his own man, including in the area of foreign policy, despite his promise to appoint Putin to the prime minister's post.
The powers of the two posts "flow from the constitution and existing legislation and no one proposes to change them," he said. "Foreign policy, according to the constitution, is determined by the president."
The latest election returns put Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov in second place with 18.1 percent, the Central Elections Commission said.
Nationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky got 9.8 percent and the almost unknown Andrei Bogdanov 1.2 percent.
Medvedev's triumph was a foregone conclusion given his backing from Putin, who has amassed huge powers in his eight-year presidency and as prime minister is expected to retain a key role in leading the world's top energy exporter.
In the latest example of Russia flexing its energy muscle, state-run Gazprom energy giant said it planned to reduce by 25 percent gas supplies to neighbouring Ukraine from Monday morning over a gas payment dispute.
Incomplete official figures showed turnout in Sunday's vote hit a healthy 67.7 percent among the 109 million eligible voters.
Independent observers highlighted a stream of violations, however, saying the media was censored, people were pressured to vote, absentee ballots were abused, and monitors were refused access to polling stations.
Zyuganov announced that he would appeal alleged violations in court.
Medvedev, currently the first deputy premier and long-time chairman of Gazprom, represents a new generation of post-Soviet politicians. Unlike Putin, 55, he has no KGB or other security service background.
But analysts say that Medvedev will make few dramatic changes and could end up being little more than a puppet figure.
Putin indicated clearly last month that he expects to wield significant influence and that the "highest executive power" lies with the prime minister's office.
Following a campaign in which Medvedev refused to debate and the streets were bare of posters the authorities' biggest hurdle was overcoming apathy and an embarrassingly low turnout.
According to critics, officials used fraud and coercion to ensure a good result.
"There can't be a small turnout when people are forced to go to the polls," said Grigory Melkonyants, deputy director of Golos, Russia's leading independent election monitoring organisation.
However, many Russians are grateful for stability following the trauma of economic upheaval and instability in the post-Soviet 1990s under Boris Yeltsin.
Vladivostok voter Gennady Dultsev, a telecoms engineer, complained that "everything is being decided in a Soviet way," but Medvedev as president was "not the worst possible outcome."
But chess great turned Kremlin critic Garry Kasparov said Sunday in Moscow that "Russian citizens are being forced to take part in a farce."
The main European election monitoring body, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), boycotted the vote, citing restrictions on its monitors.
US Democratic presidential hopefuls Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have both criticised the election as a fix to keep Putin in power.
On Sunday Clinton said that "today's presidential election in Russia... marks a milestone in that country's retreat from democracy."
Golos and others alleged that loyalist bosses were also forcing employees to cast ballots.
"We have had dozens of calls from various regions telling us how the heads of factories and institutes are ensuring this," Golos' Melkonyants said.
The Communist Party, which deployed large numbers of observers, said workers at two factories in the Vladivostok area were told to vote or face dismissal or wage cuts.
The presidential inauguration ceremony is scheduled to take place on May 7.
Key Facts About Russia's Election
By The Associated Press – 2 hours ago
Russians voted in a presidential election Sunday. Here's an overview:
VOTING:
More than 109 million Russian citizens were eligible to vote. The first of more than 96,000 polling stations across the country's 11 time zones opened on Saturday night and the last closed Sunday evening. A complete official count is not expected until Monday.
The Central Election Commission said turnout two hours before the last polls closed was over 64 percent, similar to the last presidential election in 2004.
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CANDIDATES:
Four candidates ran for the post of president of the Russian Federation:
_ First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev
_ Communist Gennady Zyuganov
_ Ultranationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky
_ Andrei Bogdanov of Democratic Party
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WHAT'S NEXT:
Vladimir Putin, barred by the Constitution from serving three consecutive terms as president, must step down in May. Medvedev has said he would propose making Putin his prime minister — an offer Putin has said he will accept.
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WHAT'S AT STAKE:
Medvedev's election to the presidency — and Putin's ascension as premier — would raise questions about where the true center of power will be — in Medvedev's presidency or Putin's premiership. Medvedev has espoused support for Putin's domestic and foreign policies, though many of his recent speeches have given the impression of someone more liberal-minded than Putin.