Putin wins Russian presidential election with 87.28% of vote as all ballots counted - CEC

MOSCOW. March 18 (Interfax) - Vladimir Putin has won the Russian presidential election receiving 87.28% of the vote, the Central Elections Commission (CEC) said, after counting 100% of the ballots cast in the election.

State Duma member Nikolai Kharitonov from the Communist Party faction is in second place with 4.31% of the vote. State Duma Deputy Speaker and New People party member Vladislav Davankov is third with 3.85% of the vote.

Liberal Democratic Party of Russia leader Leonid Slutsky is in fourth place with 3.2% of the vote, the CEC said.

The tally of 100% of ballots shows that Putin received 76,277,708 votes, Kharitonov 3,768,470 votes, Davankov 3,362,484 votes, and Slutsky 2,795,629 votes.

Russia held its presidential elections over three days between March 15-17.

CEC Chair Ella Pamfilova said earlier that the general voter turnout in this presidential election reached an all-time high of 77.44% over the entire history of presidential campaigns in Russia since 1991. The previous highest voter turnout in presidential elections in Russia, 74.66%, was recorded in 1991.