CIS mission: Russian presidential election was free, open

"The Russian legislation complies with internationally recognized elections standards, which made it possible to ensure the free and open expression of the will of citizens," Ilkhom Nematov said. 

He noted that the mission worked freely and independently, based on the principles of openness, neutrality and non-interference in internal affairs. The mission included 194 observers from different countries of the CIS, including Belarus. They held meetings with the head of the Central Election Commission, the senior officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Prosecutor General's Office, the Supreme Court of Russia, and the presidential candidates and their proxies. The mission worked  in Moscow and in the regions of the Russian Federation. Its work was free and open. 

He added that the voting and counting of votes were calm, orderly, in full compliance with the legislation of the Russian Federation. "The Russian presidential election was held in full compliance with the Constitution of the Russian Federation and the current electoral legislation, openly and publicly. The election was fair and competitive," Ilkhom Nematov said. 

He also drew attention to the high voter turnout, which, according to the head of the CIS mission, was facilitated by the innovations of the past elections: three-day voting and the possibility of voting online. 
According to the CEC, with 99.76% of the ballots counted, the incumbent Russian President Vladimir Putin gained 87.29% of the vote. Nikolai Kharitonov of Russia’s Communist Party placed second with a result of 4.30%. The candidate from the New People party Vladislav Davankov received 3.84% of the vote. The leader of the Liberal Democratic Party Leonid Slutsky gained 3.21% of the vote. The voter turnout was 77.44%.