The leadership of the Central Election Commission acknowledged the diligent work of all commission members in organizing the presidential elections across the country. The praise came from Ella Pamfilova, who emphasized the collective effort of every participant and the broad public responsibility involved in the electoral process. She noted that the nation acted with unity and solemnity, recognizing the significance these elections hold for the present and the future of the country.
Work during the election period was carried out with careful coordination across the regions. Regions following Moscow time completed voting at designated centers, and update briefings confirmed the closure of polling sites in the Northwestern, Central, Volga, Southern, and North Caucasian federal districts. The election authority reported that by 20:00 Moscow time, the overall in-person voter turnout nationwide stood at 73.33 percent, reflecting a strong engagement from citizens in the process.
Voting schedule for the presidential election ran from March 15 to March 17, with polling hours set from 08:00 to 20:00 local time. For a portion of voters, this election marked the introduction of remote electronic voting in select regions, enabling a broader segment of the population to participate through digital means. This development is noted as a first in the national election framework, aimed at expanding access while maintaining the integrity of the vote.
The Central Election Commission registered four presidential candidates for the ballot: Nikolai Kharitonov representing the Communist Party, Leonid Slutsky representing the LDPR, Vladislav Davankov representing New People, and Vladimir Putin, who participated as a candidate in his own right. This lineup reflected a spectrum of political perspectives and provided voters with distinct policy proposals and leadership approaches to consider during the campaign period.
In parallel, authorities assessed the broader cybersecurity landscape surrounding the electoral process. Earlier assessments by the Federal Security Service and related agencies addressed concerns about potential cyber threats, including distributed denial-of-service attacks targeting online components of the election infrastructure. The ongoing monitoring aimed to ensure both the resilience of the voting system and the reliability of official results, reinforcing public confidence in the electoral process as it unfolded across diverse regions and modalities.