DUBLIN, March 12. /TASS/. Early voting in the Russian presidential election took place on Sunday at the polling stations in the Irish cities of Galway, Limerick and Cork.

"The polling stations opened in Ireland’s biggest cities with the active assistance from the Coordinating Council of the Organization of Russian Compatriots in Ireland," Vasily Velichkin, a spokesman for the Russian Embassy, who coordinated the work of the polling station in Galway, informed TASS. He noted that 61 people voted in that city, which is twice as many compared to elections to Russia’s State Duma (lower house of parliament) in 2016.

"The Russian diaspora’s high turnout was likewise registered in Cork and Limerick. There was no electoral fraud, the local police provided all necessary assistance to us," the diplomat added.

According to the spokesman, the high voter turnout stemmed from a successful campaign organized by the Council of Compatriots in the months preceding the election. "Our diaspora actively used social networks," he explained. The diplomat expressed the hope that the voting at the country’s main polling station - in Dublin - in a week’s time would also take place with the active participation of Russian voters.

The number of the Russian diaspora in Ireland is estimated at about 5,000 people, a considerable part of Russian citizens lives in Dublin.