MOSCOW, March 6. /TASS/. Nearly 740,000 people have already voted early since February 25 across 32 Russian regions in the country's presidential election, Central Election Commission (CEC) Deputy Chairman Nikolay Bulayev said at a commission meeting.

"As of 10:00 a.m. Moscow time (7:00 a.m. GMT) on March 6, 2024, almost 740,000 people had voted early in 32 constituent regions of Russia; this is a lot, these are people who are subject to special conditions," the elections official said.

Early voting in hard-to-reach and remote locations, as well as on ships that will be at sea during the three-day voting period (March 15-17), will last until March 14. Bulayev noted that 15,459 voters will be at sea during those days and intend to vote early or have already voted early.

Four candidates are vying for Russia’s highest office in this election: Vladislav Davankov of the New People party; incumbent President Vladimir Putin, who is a self-nominated candidate; Leonid Slutsky of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR); and Nikolay Kharitonov of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF). The Federation Council, or upper house of Russia’s parliament, designated March 17, 2024 as the date of the presidential election. The CEC then decreed that voting will take place over three days, on March 15-17, making this Russia’s first three-day presidential election. Also, for the first time, e-voting will be conducted remotely in this election, with residents of 29 Russian regions, including the City of Moscow, eligible to vote online.