ISS, March 16. /TASS/. The technology of voting in the Russian presidential election from the International Space Station (ISS) has been in effect for years: a proxy transmits the will of a crew member through a closed channel with Earth, Roscosmos cosmonaut and TASS special correspondent in space Oleg Kononenko said.

Cosmonauts Kononenko, Nikolay Chub and Alexander Grebenkin voted on the first day of the Russian presidential election. "On each of my space flights I took part in elections - federal or regional. When elections were held in Korolev while I was on Earth, I personally voted and also acted as a proxy for the cosmonauts who were working on the ISS at the time. The technology of voting from the International Space Station has been developed for many years: a proxy transmits the will of a crew member," Kononenko said.

According to him, the secrecy of the vote is strictly observed, as the entire process takes place in a closed communication channel with Earth. "The opportunity to exercise your constitutional right and take part in the Russian presidential election, despite the fact that you are working in space, is met with enthusiasm. Today there is an opportunity to vote both remotely through a proxy and electronically. We have chosen the remote format of voting through proxy. Igor Trifonov, the head of the Korolev district, became our proxy," the cosmonaut said.

Voting in the Russian presidential election is taking place over three days on March 15-17. Four candidates vie 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.