Watchdog: Medvedev wins Russian presidential election

MOSCOW, March 3 (Xinhua) -- Dmitry Medvedev, first deputy prime minister of Russian President Vladimir Putin's cabinet, has won the country's fifth presidential election by a landslide, the election administration said Monday.

With 99.5 percent of the ballots counted, Medvedev garnered 70.23 percent, Central Election Commission (CEC) Chairman Vladimir Churov told a press conference in Moscow.

A candidate must obtain more than 50 percent of the vote for an outright victory. Otherwise, a run-off will be held between the top two front runners.

Winning 51.9 million ballots, Medvedev has set a record in the history of presidential elections in Russia, compared with the previous one set by Putin, who won 49.6 million votes, or 71.3 percent, in 2004.

Russia's first president Boris Yeltsin was elected in 1991 with 45.6 million ballots.

In Sunday's elections, Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov came in second with 17.76 percent of the vote, while Liberal Democratic Party leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky won 9.37 percent and Democratic Party leader Andrei Bogdanov took 1.29 percent, CEC figures showed.

The voters turnout of 69.65 percent is also higher than the last presidential election in 2004 and the parliamentary elections last December, CEC figures showed.

There are 108.94 million eligible voters and 96,301 polling stations throughout the vast country. Citizens residing abroad were able to vote at 364 polling stations in 142 countries. In some remote areas, voting started about two weeks ahead of polling day.

The CEC will issue the final results Friday and the new president's inauguration will be held on May 7.

Incumbent President Putin is constitutionally barred from a third consecutive term.