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2024 Russian Presidential Election

Over 1,200 polling stations operating in 3 of Russia’s new regions for presidential vote

Voting at 581 polling stations is taking place in the LPR, while over 60 polling stations are operating across the Kherson Region

© Alexander Reka/TASS

MOSCOW, March 15. /TASS/. Voting in the Russian presidential election started in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), the Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) and the Kherson Region as more than 1,200 polling stations opened in the three new regions, local election commissions told TASS.

"Our goal is to prevent concentrations of large numbers of voters in a specific place at a specific time," DPR Election Commission Chairman Vladimir Vysotsky said.

DPR voters will be able to cast their ballots until 8:00 p.m. Moscow time (5:00 p.m. GMT - TASS) on Friday and Saturday, and 626 polling stations will be open until 3:00 p.m. Moscow time (12:00 p.m. GMT) on Sunday, the DPR election commission specified.

Voting at 581 polling stations is taking place in the LPR, while over 60 polling stations are operating across the Kherson Region. Voter turnout in early voting stood at 18.52%, LPR Election Commission Chairwoman Yelena Kravchenko told reporters.

Zaporozhye Region residents will go to the polls on March 17 only, the local election commission said. Meanwhile, early voting started in Melitopol, Energodar, Berdyansk and other cities and district centers in that region on Friday.

The Russian Federation Council, or upper house of parliament, officially designated March 17, 2024 as the date of the presidential election. The Russian Central Election Commission (CEC) then announced that voting will take place over three days on March 15-17. Four candidates are vying for the top office, namely New People party nominee Vladislav Davankov; self-nominated candidate and incumbent President Vladimir Putin; Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) nominee Leonid Slutsky; and Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) nominee Nikolay Kharitonov.

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2024 Russian Presidential Election

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