Incumbent President Vladimir Putin is expected to win this year’s presidential election, with over 87% of the vote, Russia’s Central Election Commission (CEC) has reported.
According to the CEC, more than 99.5% of the votes have been counted as of 7am Moscow time 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 Putin 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 and over 95% in Donetsk People’s Republic, 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 Chukotka Autonomous Region also show Putin leading, with roughly 90% of the vote.