Preliminary processing of 99 percent of polling station protocols throughout Russia show’s Dmitry Medvedev’s sweeping victory with 70.23 percent of the votes. He is followed by Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov with 17.75, Vladimir Zhirinovsky (9.36) and Andrei Bogdanov, who won only 1.29 percent of the votes
But what was said to be the most surprising victory is the turnout of voters – over 70 percent. The Central Electoral Commission has called it a record, thanking Russians for their consciousness and local authorities for their enthusiasm.
Victory Day
Dmitry Medvedev was one of the first people in Moscow to demonstrate consciousness - he came to his local polling station with his wife Svetlana shortly after opening hour in the morning.
Russia’s acting President Vladimir Putin came to his polling station, set inside the Russian Academy of Science building, at half past twelve, and was met by a crowd of journalists.
-Are those ballots? Putin asked, about a pile of white papers.
-Yes, answered Valery Balankhin, head of local electoral commission. This one is for municipal election, there are three candidates, and this one is for…
-There’s only one, right? – Putin joked, laughing with all the reporters.
Victory Night
Members and staff of the Central Electoral Commission were not hiding their joy after the voting ended. At 9 P.M. Moscow time, when the last polis stations closed in Russia’s most Western Kaliningrad, the first preliminary results were announced in the CEC head office. Commission’s head Vladimir Churov strictly stopped the gathering from shouting ‘victory’, reminding everybody the results where not yet official.
But people who gathered in the building where already celebrating. Nikas Safronov, a renown artist, said he would love to paint an official portrait of Mr. Medvedev if the state commissioned one. State Duma vice speaker Artur Chilingarov revealed Medvedev had promised to join one of Chilingarov’s arctic expeditions.
After casting his vote, Medvedev himself went to Moscow’s old estate and museum of Kolomenskoye, later joining party comrades at dinner, and then, together with Vladimir Putin, went to a Red Square concert, where his young supporters where celebrating election results.
After thanking the crowd, Medvedev arrived in his campaign headquarters, a few hundred meters away from the Kremlin, where many reporters where expecting to hear ‘the first words of the new President’, while Medvedev’s assistants where waiting for a celebration supper, sharing their vision of Russia’s future with the media. Officials mainly abstained from predictions, calling everybody to have patience until May 7th, when Medvedev is expected to be inaugurated. I two weeks time after that, he is supposed to present the parliament a candidature of the future Prime Minister and other members of the Cabinet.
The would-be President of Russia said that ‘forming the future outline of the executive branch’ would be his first he would do in his new office. He reminded everybody that Mr Putin had agreed to become Prime Minister and said they would work together. After creation of a new Cabinet, Medvedev said, the Presidential administration will be ‘renewed’. He later thanked his opponents Zyuganov and Zhirinovsky and said election day had been ‘one of the most difficult emotionally’ for him.
Vera Kholmogorova
Photo: AP
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