The Central Election Committee (CEC) of Russia informed that it had processed 99.75% of the protocols. Putin has 87.29% of the votes. Technical candidates Leonid Slutsky, Nikolai Kharitonov and Vladislav Davankov have less than 5%. The Central Election Commission did not register a single opposition or anti-war candidate. CEC will officially summarize the results of the so-called elections on March 21.
The head of CEC Ella Pamfilova informed about a record turnout in the recent history of the Russian Federation — 77.44%. The previous record was in 1991 (74.66%). According to Pamfilova, 87.1 million Russians voted.
Putin was the first to congratulate Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro with words about the "elder brother" and the construction of a "multipolar world."
President of Iran Ebrahim Raisi, Chinese leader Xi Jinping, self-proclaimed leader of Belarus Lukashenko, as well as the leaders of Cuba, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Honduras, North Korea, Myanmar, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan also congratulated Putin on his "victory".
The day before, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky commented on the holding of so-called "elections" in Russia: "There is no legitimacy in this imitation."
He believes that Putin is "simply sick of power and is doing everything to rule forever, and there is no such evil that he will not commit to prolong his personal power."
The West will not congratulate Putin. Most countries consider these "elections" to be fake, and they do not recognize their holding in the occupied territories of Ukraine. However, there was one greeting from Europe — but on March 15, the day the "voting" began. The head of the European Council Charles Michel wrote with irony: "I want to congratulate Vladimir Putin on his convincing victory in the elections that begin today. No opposition. No freedom. No choice."
Putin was first elected president in 2000 after the resignation of Russiaʼs first president Boris Yeltsin. Since then, he has become an almost constant ruler of the state. In 2008, he was temporarily replaced by the current Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Dmytrii Medvedev. In 2012, Putin regained the presidency.