Russia’s election commission says Putin set for landslide win in presidential election

According to the CEC, more than 99.5% of the votes have been counted and Putin is leading the race with an estimated 87.3%.

His opponent from the Communist Party, Nikolay Kharitonov, is expected to come in second with 4.3%, followed by Vladislav Davankov of the New People party (3.8%) and Leonid Slutsky of the Liberal Democrats (3.2%).

Exit polls earlier showed similar trends, with the head of state expected to win the election with 87.8%. The exit survey was conducted among 466,324 voters at polling stations across the country.

This year’s election has clocked a historic high voter turnout, which topped 74%, according to data from the CEC.

The processing of ballots has already ended in most Russian regions. Putin has gained 94.12% of the votes in Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) and over 95% in Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), two of Russia’s new regions where citizens are voting for the first time.

The results from the Republics of Tyva, Khakassia and Yakutia, the regions of Zaporozhye, Kherson and Khabarovsk, and from Chukotka Autonomous Region also show the serving president leading the four candidates, with roughly 90% of the vote.

Speaking in front of his supporters on Sunday night, Putin stressed that the “only source of power in the country is the Russian people”, adding that the vote of every citizen counts when its comes to charting the nation’s course.

The Russian leader noted that while the country is about to face numerous challenges, its people will be up to the task if they remain united.

“No matter who and how they would try to intimidate and suppress us, our will, our consciousness… Nobody in our history has ever succeeded, won’t succeed now or in the future. Never.”

Putin went on to thank Russian citizens for the trust they had placed in him.

“I will do my best to solve the tasks set before the country and achieve the goals we all consider to be of the highest priority,” he added.