Sunday, March 2, 2008 (Moscow)
Russia on Sunday voted to elect its third post-Communist president with pollsters predicting a cake walk for Vladimir Putin's chosen successor Dmitry Medvedev in the election declared a ''farce'' by the opposition and derided by western observers.
Over 450,000 policemen and soldiers with sniffer dogs and an undisclosed number FSB intelligence officials have been deployed to thwart any untoward incident as the first of 96,000 polling stations opened at 8:00 am (0:30 IST) in Chukotka facing the US state of Alaska across the Bering Strait.
Around 109 million voters across 11 times zones from Asia to Europe are expected to elect 42-year-old Medvedev, ensuring that Putin, who is not elegible to return to office after serving two successive terms as president, continues to wield power in the Kremlin.
Russia to change leadership
Medvedev, currently first deputy premier and head of state-run gas monopoly Gazprom, says he will carry forward policies of the immensely popular Putin, who will hold the post of prime minister under a revamped government.
Under Putin, Russia has witnessed a resurgence in power, prosperity and a relative stability, helped by a massive inflow of petrodollars.
''I have a good mood. The spring has come,'' a beaming Medvedev said today after casting his vote. He is pitted against Communist rival Gennady Zyuganov, firebrand ultra-nationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky and Andrei Bogdanov, an obscure Democratic Party leader.
Medvedev's win predicted
Opinion polls predict Medvedev will win at least 60 per cent of the vote and possibly more than 70 per cent, but the credibility will depend on voter turnout.
Election results are expected to start trickle in later on Sunday night.
A low turnout would mean that the vote would be se [1] [2] [3] 下一页 |
