MOSCOW, March 18. /TASS/. Voter turnout in the Russian presidential election currently stands at 51.9%, Russia’s Central Election Commission reported.

CEC Deputy Chairman Nikolai Bulaev noted that the data on voter turnout was up-to-the-minute, at 17:08 Moscow time. It will be updated in the commission’s Information Center every three minutes.

Meanwhile, CEC Chairperson Ella Pamfilova clarified that this is the current election’s innovation, earlier voter turnout was announced as of a certain time. "It will change by the minute, we will continuously see this turnout on the screens," she said.

At 12:00 Moscow, the turnout came to 34.72%, the commission said.

Russia's presidential election is being held on March 18, 2018. Eight contenders are vying for the presidency. They are incumbent head of state Vladimir Putin who is seeking another presidential term as an independent candidate for Russia’s highest public office; LDPR leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky; Pavel Grudinin director of the Lenin State Farm (nominated by the Communist Party of Russia); Yabloko party co-founder Grigory Yavlinsky; leader of the Party of Growth and business ombudsman Boris Titov; Head of the Russian People’s Union party Sergey Baburin; TV personality and socialite Ksenia Sobchak (nominated by Civil Initiative), and leader of the Communists of Russia Maxim Suraikin.