Medvedev headed for easy victory in Russian election

Vladimir Putin’s handpicked successor Dmitry Medvedev was headed for an easy victory in today’s presidential election, according to an exit poll and early partial results.

Mr Medvedev’s election will likely allow Mr Putin to retain a measure of power in a nation whose wealth and global voice have grown while democratic freedoms have diminished during his eight years in office.

Mr Medvedev, 42, the long-time protégé Mr Putin endorsed in December, was likely to win about 70.1 percent of the vote, according to a poll by the All-Russia Opinion Research Centre, or VTsIOM. In a field of four that lacked any real challenger, Communist Party chief Gennady Zyuganov trailed with 16.8 percent, the exit poll said.

With ballots from about 15% of Russia’s electoral precincts counted, Mr Medvedev had 64.55 percent, according to the Central Election Commission. Mr Zyuganov has nearly 20 percent, it said.

Two candidates alleged election violations moments after polls closed, the ITAR-Tass and Interfax news agencies reported.

Mr Zyuganov said he had a list of 200 alleged vote violations and ultranationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky said he would challenge official vote results in court, the reports said.

The vote came after a tightly controlled campaign and months of political manoeuvring by Mr Putin, who appeared determined to keep a strong hand on Russia’s reins while maintaining the basic trappings of electoral democracy and leaving the constitution intact.

Mr Medvedev is expected to formally take over as president in May, and Mr Putin has agreed to be his prime minister.