MOSCOW, March 18. /TASS/. A mission of the SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organization) observers visited 38 polling stations at the Russian presidential election and spoke with voters and representatives of media outlets, SCO Secretary-General Zhang Ming, who heads the SCO Observer Mission for the presidential election in the Russian Federation, told a briefing.

"From March 15 to 17, 2024 international observers of our mission (SCO - TASS) freely visited all polling stations without being specially accompanied and without preliminarily notifying Russia’s executive and election authorities, during which they spoke unhindered with voters and media representatives," he said. "According to our mission’s statistics, 37 polling stations were monitored," the secretary-general added.

The mission observed the presidential vote in Moscow, Suzdal and Vladimir "for ensuring a more comprehensive review of the election process," he noted.

The Russian presidential election was held on March 15-17. According to data posted on the Russian Central Election Commission’s website, the incumbent Russian leader, Putin, scored 87.32% of the vote, with 99.43% of ballots counted. Running in second is Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) nominee Nikolay Kharitonov (4.32%), followed by New People party nominee Vladislav Davankov with 3.79% of the vote and Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) nominee Leonid Slutsky (3.19%).