Russian elections: Putin ahead in Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, and DPR
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Vladimir Putin has won in a landslide victory each of Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, and DPK, polls have shown.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin attends an electronic voting during a presidential voting at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow, Russia, Friday, March 15, 2024. (AP)
In the Russian Kherson region, the final turnout of voters in the presidential elections stands at 83.87%, according to the Regional Election Commission.
"The final turnout in the Russian presidential election in the Kherson Region, including the early voting turnout, is 83.87%," the commission's statement read.
The polls in Kherson were closed at 4:00 pm local time, and an official count revealed that current president Vladimir Putin has won the district with a landslide victory of 88.12% of the votes.
The rest of the votes were distributed among the remaining candidates as follows: 4.88% for Nikolay Kharitonov, 4.6% for Leonid Slutsky, and 2.03% for Vladislav Davankov.
Putin also has the lead Zaporizhzhia and the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) with an overwhelming majority of 92.95% and 95.23% respectively.
The voting has spanned three days from March 15 until March 17. It marked the first Russian presidential election since the 2020 constitutional reform. The reform had imposed a limit of two terms for any president. This also nullified Putin's former terms, enabling him to run again.
In this election, four candidates vie for the six-year presidential term. Putin, running independently, competes against Leonid Slutsky of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDPR), Nikolay Kharitonov of the Communist Party, and Vladislav Davankov representing the New People party.
Kherson Oblast residents celebrate the Russian elections with a festival. pic.twitter.com/L9GclWruIv
— Dan Kovalik (@danielmkovalik) March 17, 2024
90K+ cyberattacks from Ukraine, N. America on elections portal: Russia
Vladimir Putin secured the votes despite several attempts at sabotaging results.
The head of Solar Group, a subsidiary of Rostelecom, Igor Lyapunov, revealed on Saturday that on the first day of the Russian elections, more than 90,000 cyber attacks targeted the elections portals originating from Ukraine and North America.
Lyapunov stated that such an unprecedented number of cyber attacks indicates that the collective West is fighting against Russia, adding that attacks originated from "Ukraine and other locations in Western Europe as well as North America."
He added that an unprecedented major cyber attack took place yesterday at 12:47 Moscow time targeting the electronic voting platform peaking at more than 2.5 million clicks per second, a load that has caused a delay in the portal.
Earlier today, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova revealed that Washington is using hackers and compiled a package of misleading information to be published on the eve and during the election day to influence the voting process in the Russian presidential elections.
Read more: Coordinated vandalism acts hit Russian electoral polls
