By Varonika for Dispatch News Desk News Agency
Moscow, Russia: By 1900 hours Moscow standard time, the turnout in the Presidential Elections in Russia 2018 had already exceeded 52 percent with clear lead in favour of President Vladimir Putin.
According to the deputy chairman of the Central Election Commission Nikolay Bulaev, polling was concluded in many parts of the country and vote turnout was over 52%.
Central Election Commission of Russia is using latest system to keep journalists updated about results and data is updated after every three minutes.
According to Central Election Commission, polling is concluded in 31 regions of Far East and Siberia including in the Novosibirsk regions, Kamchatka, Transbaikal, Primorsky, Krasnoyarsk, Khabarovsk, Altai, Sakhalin, Altai, Irkutsk, Magadan, Tomsk, Kemerovo, Amur, Yakutia, Buryatia, Tuva, Khakassia and Chukotka.
The voting was started on March 17 at 23:00 Moscow time at Chukotka Autonomous which is ahead of time to Moscow.
It is pertinent to mention that voters of Crimea and Sevastopol are voting first time in history of Russian Federation for Presidential Elections of Russia.
According to Central Election Commission, as many 97,000 polling stations have (had) been established including 400 in several cities of world where Russian came to vote for their new President.
Central Election Commission said that voting procedure is (was) monitored by about 1,500 international observers from 109 countries.
This is first election under new rule in which absentee certificate system is not allowed and people are voting at their actual place of vote registration.
The head of the Central Election Commission of Russian Ella Pamfilova informed journalists that 5.5 million voters were registered for 2018 Presidential Elections.
Eight candidates are contesting including Sergei Baburin, (Russian National Alliance), Pavel Grudinin (Communist Party of the Russian Federation), Vladimir Zhirinovsky (LDPR), Vladimir Putin, (sitting President), Ksenia Sobchak  (Civil Initiative), Maxim Suraykin (Communists of Russia), Boris Titov (The Party of Growth) and Grigory Yavlinsky (Yabloko—Apple).
