With more than 99% of the ballots counted, former Russian President Vladimir Putin had secured nearly 64% of the vote, making him the winner of last week’s election for President of Russia and marking the third time he will be President.
Putin told supporters in Moscow he had won in an open and honest battle, but International monitors on Monday said Russia’s presidential elections were unfair and clearly skewed in Putin’s favor.
Election observers from the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe said Putin, who according to preliminary results with nearly all precincts reporting won 63.7 per cent of the vote, had abused government resources to secure victory.
“There was no real competition, and abuse of government resources ensured that the ultimate winner of the election was never in doubt,” Tonino Picula, one of the OSCE monitors said in a report. “The point of elections is that they should be uncertain: this was not the case in Russia.”
Tens of thousands of supporters of Putin – with Russian flags and banners – took part in a concert outside the Kremlin to celebrate his victory late on Sunday. Making a brief appearance with current President Dmitry Medvedev, Putin thanked his supporters from “every corner” of the country.
“I promised you we would win, and we won,” he said, his eyes watering. “Glory to Russia!” “We have won in an open and honest battle.” “We proved that no one can force anything on us.”