Putin returns as President of Russia with over 87% votes

Russian President Vladimir Putin won the presidential elections, receiving 87.17 per cent of the votes based on the result of processing 70 percent of the electoral protocols, Russia-based TASS reported, citing data from the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation.

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The Communist Party of the Russian Federation candidate Nikolai Kharitonov secured the second spot with 4.1 per cent of the votes while New People Party candidate Vladislav Davankov stood third with 4.8 per cent votes.

The Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) candidate, Leonid Slutsky, received a mere 3.15 per cent of the votes counted.

According to preliminary data as of 6 pm (Moscow time) on Sunday, the voter turnout in the presidential elections, which for the first time took place over three days from March 15-17, stood at 74.22 per cent. Voter turnout for the elections held in 2018 was 67.54 per cent.