Putin heads to the polls: Russian president is confident of victory as he casts in ballot in Moscow - Daily Mail

Putin heads to the polls: Russian president is confident of victory as he casts in ballot in Moscow - despite election monitors reporting irregularities across the country
Russians are facing intense pressure to turn out to vote in Russia's presidential election on Sunday
Although Putin's victory isn't in doubt, there's a question of whether he'll get a convincing mandate
Casting his ballot in Moscow, Putin said he would consider any percentage of votes a success
Election monitors reported irregularities despite authorities being  told to ensure voting was free and fair
By Khaleda Rahman For Mailonline and Ap

PUBLISHED: 19:51 AEDT, 18 March 2018 | UPDATED: 20:07 AEDT, 18 March 2018

Vladimir Putin was confident as he headed to cast his ballot in Russia's presidential election.

Putin is certain to win in Sunday's election, so voter apathy is widespread.

But although Putin's victory isn't in doubt, the only real question is whether voters will turn out in big enough numbers to hand him a convincing mandate for his fourth term - which many Russians are facing intense pressure to do so.

Authorities have spent unprecedented funds to get out the vote to ensure he has a strong mandate for his next six years in office.

Casting his ballot in Moscow, Putin said he would consider any percentage of votes a success. 'The program that I propose for the country is the right one,' he said.

Vladimir Putin was confident as he headed to cast his ballot at a polling station in the Russian Academy of Sciences headquarters in Moscow on Sunday +22
Vladimir Putin was confident as he headed to cast his ballot at a polling station in the Russian Academy of Sciences headquarters in Moscow on Sunday

Vladimir Putin holds his ballot paper at a polling station during the presidential election in Moscow on Sunday +22
Vladimir Putin casts his ballot at a polling station during Russia's presidential election in Moscow on Sunday +22
Although Putin's victory isn't in doubt, the only real question is whether voters will turn out in big enough numbers to hand him a convincing mandate for his fourth term. Pictured, the Russian president casts his ballot in Moscow

Election monitors were reporting irregularities at voting stations across Russia, even though election authorities were under orders to ensure that the voting was free and fair after violations marred Putin's last election in 2012.

Back then, Putin faced a serious opposition movement, but since then he has boosted his popularity thanks to Russian actions in Ukraine and Syria.

Now, he faces seven challengers but no serious threat to his rule.

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Voters were casting ballots across the world's largest country, from the Pacific coast to Siberia and Moscow.

In Ukraine, security forces are surrounding Russian facilities amid anger over the Ukrainian government's refusal to allow ordinary Russians to vote for president.

Ukrainian police are guarding the Russian Embassy in Kiev and consular offices in Odessa and other cities.

Russian President  Vladimir Putin exits a polling booth as he prepares to cast his ballot in the presidential election on Sunday
Russian President Vladimir Putin exits a polling booth as he prepares to cast his ballot in the presidential election on Sunday

Casting his ballot in Moscow, Putin said he would consider any percentage of votes a success. 'The program that I propose for the country is the right one,' he said +22
Casting his ballot in Moscow, Putin said he would consider any percentage of votes a success. 'The program that I propose for the country is the right one,' he said

The Ukrainian government announced that only Russian diplomatic officials would be allowed to cast ballots in Sunday's vote.

Millions of ethnic Russians live in Ukraine but the number of registered Russian voters in Ukraine is unclear.

Ukraine is protesting voting in Crimea, annexed by Russia from Ukraine four years ago. Ukraine is also angry over Russian support for separatists in eastern Ukraine, where a deadly conflict continues.

Russian authorities are appealing to the United Nations and Council of Europe to intervene, according to Russian news agencies. 

Voting will conclude at 8pm (6pm GMT) in Kaliningrad, the Baltic exclave that is Russia's westernmost region, and initial results are expected soon afterward.

Activists and supporters of different Ukrainian nationalist parties perform with a figure depicting  Vladimir Putin in Kiev +22
Activists and supporters of different Ukrainian nationalist parties perform with a figure depicting Vladimir Putin in Kiev

Security forces are surrounding Russian facilities amid anger over the Ukrainian government's refusal to allow ordinary Russians to vote for president +22
Security forces are surrounding Russian facilities amid anger over the Ukrainian government's refusal to allow ordinary Russians to vote for president

The Ukrainian government announced that only Russian diplomatic officials would be allowed to cast ballots in Sunday's vote +22
The Ukrainian government announced that only Russian diplomatic officials would be allowed to cast ballots in Sunday's vote

Putin is so certain of winning that authorities are investing instead in massive get-out-the-vote efforts to produce a turnout that would embolden the Russian leader both domestically and internationally.

Election monitoring group Golos and online groups set up to record violations reported scores of problems Sunday.

They included discrepancies in ballot numbers, ballot boxes placed out of sight of observation cameras and last-minute voter registration changes likely designed to boost turnout.

The central election commission released midway turnout figures for far eastern and Siberian regions ranging from 28 to 100 percent.

But the figures meant little because the population is heavily concentrated farther West in European Russia.

Some 145,000 observers were monitoring the voting in the world's largest country, including 1,500 foreigners and representatives from opposition leader Alexei Navalny's political movement. Navalny himself is barred from running.

Vladimir Putin smiles upon receiving a souvenir after voting in the presidential elections a a polling station in Moscow, Russia

Russia's incumbent president Vladimir Putin (R) shakes hands with local election commission chairman Viktor Lyndin in the Russian Academy of Sciences headquarters +22
Russia's incumbent president Vladimir Putin (R) shakes hands with local election commission chairman Viktor Lyndin in the Russian Academy of Sciences headquarters

Putin shakes hands with a member of the election commission as he arrives to vote at a polling station in Moscow on Sunday +22
Putin shakes hands with a member of the election commission as he arrives to vote at a polling station in Moscow on Sunday

Election monitors were reporting irregularities at voting stations across Russia, even though election authorities were under orders to ensure that the voting was free and fair after violations marred Putin's last election in 2012 +22
Election monitors were reporting irregularities at voting stations across Russia, even though election authorities were under orders to ensure that the voting was free and fair after violations marred Putin's last election in 2012

Back in 2012, Putin (pictured) faced a serious opposition movement, but since then he has boosted his popularity thanks to Russian actions in Ukraine and Syria +22
Back in 2012, Putin (pictured) faced a serious opposition movement, but since then he has boosted his popularity thanks to Russian actions in Ukraine and Syria

Voters also faced billboards celebrating Russian greatness - a big theme of Vladimir Putin's (pictured) leadership +22
Voters also faced billboards celebrating Russian greatness - a big theme of Vladimir Putin's (pictured) leadership

Many voters said they were under pressure from their employers to vote.

Yevgeny, a 43-year-old mechanic voting in central Moscow, said he briefly wondered whether it was worth voting.

'But the answer was easy,' he said. 'If I want to keep working, I vote.'

He said his bosses haven't asked for proof of voting but he fears they will. He spoke on condition that his last name not be used out of concern that his employer would find out.

Yevgeny Roizman, the mayor of Russia's fourth-largest city, Yekaterinburg, said local officials and state employees have all received orders 'from higher up' to make sure the presidential vote turnout is over 60 percent.

'They are using everything: schools, kindergartens, hospitals - the battle for the turnout is unprecedented,' said Roizman, one of the rare opposition politicians to hold a significant elected office.

A doctor at one of the city's hospitals told the AP how one kind of voting pressure works.

Russian military personnel are seen as they line up to cast their ballots in the presidential election in Moscow on Sunday
Russian military personnel are seen as they line up to cast their ballots in the presidential election in Moscow on Sunday

Many voters said they were under pressure from their employers to vote. Pictured, a Russian woman is abut to cast her ballot
Many voters said they were under pressure from their employers to vote. Pictured, a Russian woman is abut to cast her ballot

Some said they voted because they understood that not showing up at the polling place would endanger their jobs. Pictured, an elderly Russian woman casts her ballot +22
Some said they voted because they understood that not showing up at the polling place would endanger their jobs. Pictured, an elderly Russian woman casts her ballot

The doctor, who gave her name only as Yekaterina because of fears about repercussions, said she and her co-workers were told to fill out forms detailing not only where they would cast their ballots, but giving the names and details of two 'allies' whom they promised to persuade to go vote.

'People were indignant at first, said: `They're violating our rights' ... but what can you do?' she said at a cafe on  Saturday.

Yekaterina said she wasn't sure what she would do with her ballot, musing that 'maybe I'll just write `Putin is a moron.''

But she understood that not showing up at the polling place on Sunday would not only endanger her job, but would reflect badly on her boss, whom she likes.

She said she wouldn't go to vote if she wasn't forced to. 'What's the point? We already know the outcome. This is just a circus show,' she said.

Russian servicemen line-up to vote in the Russian presidential election in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Sunday morning +22
Russian servicemen line-up to vote in the Russian presidential election in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Sunday morning

Voters walk past a poster showing the eight candidates in the presidential election. Among Putin's challengers is Ksenia Sobchak (pictured right), a 36-year-old TV host who has campaigned on a liberal platform and criticised Putin's policies.
Voters walk past a poster showing the eight candidates in the presidential election. Among Putin's challengers is Ksenia Sobchak (pictured right), a 36-year-old TV host who has campaigned on a liberal platform and criticised Putin's policies

A person points to the eight candidates in the presidential election in Moscow. Pictured fourth from left, incumbent president Vladimir Putin

Authorities were also appealing to patriotic feelings by holding the vote on the anniversary of Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.

Polls show that most Russians continue to see the takeover of that Black Sea peninsula as a major achievement despite subsequent Western sanctions.

The eight presidential candidates were barred from campaigning on Sunday, but much-loved entertainers appealed to voters in a televised message aired throughout the day to fulfill their civic duty and go to the polls.

Voters also faced billboards celebrating Russian greatness - a big theme of Putin's leadership.

As US authorities investigate alleged Russian interference in President Donald Trump's 2016 election, Moscow has warned of possible meddling in the Russian vote.

A woman studies her ballot paper as she prepares to cast a vote in the presidential election in Moscow on Sunday +22
A woman studies her ballot paper as she prepares to cast a vote in the presidential election in Moscow on Sunday

A woman is pictured in the polling booth as she prepares to cast her ballot in the presidential election in which Vladimir Putin is seeking a fourth term in the Kremlin +22
A woman is pictured in the polling booth as she prepares to cast her ballot in the presidential election in which Vladimir Putin is seeking a fourth term in the Kremlin

Turnout-boosting efforts have been the most visible feature of the campaign - and all come from taxpayers' pockets.

In Moscow alone, authorities spent 50 million rubles ($870,000) on balloons and festive decorations at polling stations.

First-time voters in the Russian capital were being given free tickets for pop concerts, and health authorities were offering free cancer screenings at selected polling stations.

In the southern city of Tambov, the state-sponsored Youth Parliament backed an Instagram competition. Voters who take selfies at polling stations and post them under the designated hashtag will be able to enter a raffle for high-end electronics, including an iPhone X.

Ella Pamfilova, chairwoman of the Central Election Commission who was appointed to clean up Russia's electoral system, vowed to respond to complaints about being coerced to vote.

Putin has traveled across Russia pledging to raise wages, pour more funds into the country's crumbling health care and education and modernize dilapidated infrastructure.

Among Putin's challengers is Ksenia Sobchak, a 36-year-old TV host who has campaigned on a liberal platform and criticised Putin's policies.

Some see Sobchak, the daughter of Putin's one-time patron, as a Kremlin project intended to add a democratic veneer to the vote and help split the ranks of Kremlin critics.



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