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Sunday, March 18, 2018, 16:15
Putin on track for commanding win as Russians head to polls
By Reuters
Sunday, March 18, 2018, 16:15 By Reuters

People cast their ballots at a polling station in Yelizovo, about 30 kilometers northeast from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, capital of Kamchatka Peninsula region, Russian Far East, Russia, March 18, 2018. Polls have opened in Russia's Far East for the presidential election in which Vladimir Putin seeks a 4th term. (ALEXANDER PETPOV / AP)

ZELENODOLSK, Russia – Russians voted in a presidential election on Sunday set to give Vladimir Putin 

a runaway victory, the only possible blemish for the Kremlin being if large numbers of voters do not bother taking part because the result is so predictable.

Opinion polls give Putin, the incumbent, support of around70 percent, or nearly 10 times the backing of his nearest challenger. Another term will take him to nearly a quarter century in power — a longevity among Kremlin leaders second only to Josef Stalin.

Putin's opponents alleged officials were trying to inflate the turnout.

Another term will take Vladimir Putin to nearly a quarter century in power — a longevity among Kremlin leaders second only to Josef Stalin

Many voters credit Putin, 65, withstanding up for Russia's interests in a hostile outside world, even though the cost is confrontation with the West.

A row with Britain over allegations the Kremlin used a nerve toxin to poison a Russian double agent in a sleepy English town— denied by Moscow — has not dented his standing.

READ MORE: US attempting to meddle in Russian election

The majority of voters see no viable alternative to Putin: he has total dominance of the political.

Galina Zhukova, a pensioner, came to polling station number1512 in Zelenodolsk, about 800 km east of Moscow, with her husband, Alexei. They arrived soon after the doors opened.

"We voted for Putin. Things are all right for us," said Alexei. "And there's no one else to vote for," said Galina.

Presidential candidate President Vladimir Putin walks out of a voting booth at a polling station during Russia's presidential election in Moscow, March 18, 2018. (YURI KADOBNOV / POOL / AFP)

A day of voting across Russia's 11 time zones began at 2000GMT on Saturday on Russia's eastern edge, in the Pacific coast city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.

There, voters were handed small plastic flags with the slogan: "I love Kamchatka. We are the first."

Voting will run until polls close at the westernmost point of Russia, the Kaliningrad region on the Baltic Sea, at 1800 GMT on Sunday.

SHOO-IN CONTEST

A March 9 survey by state-run pollster VTsIOM gave Putin, who was first elected president in 2000, support of 69 percent.

His nearest rival Pavel Grudinin, the Communist Party's candidate, is on just 7 percent.

People walk through a street with an election poster that reads: "Choose President - Choose Future!" in Yekaterinburg, Russia, March 17, 2018. (NATALIYA VASILYEVA / AP)

The first politician in years to challenge the Kremlin's grip on power, Alexei Navaln, is barred from the race because of a corruption conviction he says was fabricated by the Kremlin.

ALSO READ: Russia says it thwarted presidential election day attack

He is calling for a boycott of the election, saying it is an undemocratic farce, and deploying supporters to collect evidence of anyone rigging the ballot to inflate turnout and support for Putin. The Kremlin and election officials say any fraud will be stamped out.

In an address to the nation broadcast on national television on Friday, Putin said voters held the fate of the country in their hands and urged them to vote.

In this Feb 1, 2018 file photo, Russian TV host Ksenia Sobchak speaks about her campaign to challenge Vladimir Putin in the March 18 presidential election, during an interview to the Associated Press in Moscow, Russia. (ALEXANDER ZEMLIANICHENKO / AP)

A low turnout would diminish Putin's authority in his next term, which, under the constitution, has to be his last.

In the Khabarovsk region, on Russia's Pacific coast, officials delivered supplies of eggs, tinned peas and frozen pike to polling stations. It will be sold to voters at a discount of between 10 and 30 percent compared to prices in local shops.

"By doing this we hope to attract voters to the polling stations and we think we can increase turnout," said Nikolai Kretsu, chairman of the consumer market committee in the regional administration.

"The second objective is to strengthen allegiance towards the authorities."

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