(FT) Putin wins comfortably, say exit polls

Vladimir Putin was poised to win a third term as Russian president but the opposition vowed to continue protests on Monday amid claims that the election was marred by widespread violations.

Two exit polls released after Russia’s 95,000 polling stations closed showed that the former spy who has dominated politics for the past dozen years gaining about 59 per cent of the vote. If confirmed by the final results, that would represent a comfortable victory for Mr Putin with no need to go into a second round of voting.

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Posted in * Economics, Politics, * International News & Commentary, Europe, Politics in General, Russia