Russia's presidential election surpasses 2018 turnout, exceeding 70%
Voting for Russia's next president witnesses high turnout over three days, with President Putin seeking fifth term amidst reports of cyberattacks and protests.
Russian citizens wait to vote in front of the Russian embassy in Copenhagen. / Photo: Reuters
A turnout has surpassed 70% in Russia's presidential election as voting continued on the third and last day.
Three days of voting to elect the country’s leader began on Friday, with President Vladimir Putin seeking a fifth term.
Speaking at a news conference in Moscow, Ella Pamfilova, head of Russia's Central Election Commission, said on Sunday that the overall turnout in the presidential election as of 3:45 p.m. Moscow time (1245GMT), taking into account remote electronic voting, is 70.81%.
The latest data exceeds the overall turnout of 67.54% recorded in the 2018 Russian presidential election.
Pamfilova also said that about 280,000 DDoS cyberattacks against remote electronic voting had been foiled, including 215,000 directed specifically on the voting portal itself.
She also indicated that the voting was being monitored by 1,115 international observers and experts from 129 countries.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Telegram that more than 125,000 people voted abroad at 230 polling stations in 111 countries as of midday.
"Considering the time difference, a number of sites will only open today. But even these data are a response to all those who tried to spread misinformati on or informationally distort the voting process," she further said.
The first results of the Russian presidential election are expected on Sunday after 9:00 p.m. Moscow time (1800GMT).
More than 74 protestors detained
There have also been acts of protest in the first days of polling, with a spate of arrests of Russians accused of pouring dye into ballot boxes or arson attacks.
Yulia Navalnaya attends protests in front of the Russian Embassy, in Berlin. / Photo: Reuters
Opposition leader Alexey Navalny's widow, Yulia Navalnaya, has reiterated his late husband's call for protests in the run-up to the election, saying protesters should show up in large numbers at the same time to overwhelm polling stations.
She called for protestors to spoil ballots by writing "Navalny" on them or vote for candidates other than Putin.
Authorities in Russia have detained some 74 people across the country for protest actions linked to the presidential election, a police monitoring group said.
"More than 74 people in 17 cities have already been detained," the OVD-Info rights monitoring group said in a statement.
Copyright © 2024 TRT World.