Russians vote for new president

 

The elections will not be monitored by Western observers Voting is under way in Russia's presidential poll, bringing to a close Vladimir Putin's eight years in office. Polling stations in the Far East opened at 0800 (2000 GMT Saturday), in a vote pitting deputy prime minister Dmitry Medvedev against three challengers. If elected, Mr Medvedev, the Kremlin's preferred candidate, has promised to make Mr Putin his prime minister. Saturday was declared an official "day of silence" with no campaigning allowed across Russia's 11 time zones. The other candidates are Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov, Liberal Democrat Vladimir Zhirinovsky and Democratic Party candidate Andrei Bogdanov. CANDIDATES FOR POWER Dmitry Medvedev: First deputy prime minister and chairman of Gazprom, endorsed by President Putin Gennady Zyuganov: Veteran Communist Party leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky: Ultra-nationalist leader Andrei Bogdanov: Little-known head of small Democratic Party More than 109 million Russians are registered to vote in the elections. Voting closes in the western outpost of Kaliningrad at 1800 GMT on Sunday. Apathy The BBC's Richard Galpin in Vladivostok says there was barely any campaigning by any of the candidates and there is little excitement amongst the electorate. But despite the lack of enthusiasm voting has been steady there throughout the day, he says. There has been very little scrutiny of voting by Western election observers, and there are already reports of irregularities. Civil servants have been ordered by their managers to vote, and there are reports that police and teachers are under similar pressure, our correspondent says. The main European election monitoring body - from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) - decided not to send a delegation. It said the Russian authorities were planning to impose unacceptable restrictions on its work.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7273130.stm