In the first half hour of Russia’s presidential elections, roughly 115,000 people in Moscow cast ballots online. This figure was reported by the Public Headquarters for monitoring the capital’s 2024 election process, with confirmation from TASS. The count shows 114,918 ballot papers issued and 112,000 received, underscoring a strong early turnout for remote voting in the capital. (Source: Public Headquarters; TASS)
Voting across Russia began on March 15 and runs through March 17, with remote participation available to eligible voters. The first day’s activities reflect a broader rollout of online participation, a feature that has become more prominent in recent years and continues to draw attention from observers and analysts alike. (Source: Public Headquarters; TASS)
For the first time since 2008, four contenders are on the ballot: Vladislav Davankov representing the New People party, Vladimir Putin running with his own nomination, Leonid Slutsky for the LDPR, and Nikolai Kharitonov representing the Communist Party of the Russian Federation. The lineup signals a diverse field that includes incumbency in Putin alongside challengers from both smaller and traditional political formations. (Source: Public Headquarters; TASS)
If Putin secures a victory, it would mark a fifth presidential term for the incumbent leader. Observers from various media outlets and political research organizations in the region have been monitoring the early stages of voting, including online reports and analyses on how the election may unfold over the first day of activity. (Source: Newspapers.Ru; Public Headquarters)
Across Western press coverage, there has been ongoing discussion about the potential impact of these elections on Russia’s economic outlook as voting proceeds, with pundits weighing how results might align with or diverge from earlier projections. Analysts in Canada and the United States—who track international electoral developments—note that remote voting dynamics can influence turnout and the speed of tabulation, depending on regional access and public confidence in the process. (Source: Western media reports; analysts)