Russian voters re-elected Vladimir Putin as President

Moscow, March 19: Russian voters gave Vladimir Putin a resounding approval for a fourth term as President, with figures from the Central Election Commission on Monday showing him winning with 76.68 percent of the vote, his highest score ever, despite opposition activists highlighting a number of cases of vote rigging.

Almost 55.5 million voters supported his candidacy in the election that took place on Sunday paving the way for Putin, 65, to lead the country until 2024 after which he is constitutionally obliged to stand down, Sputnik news agency reported.

The turnout at the election was 67.47 per cent, the CEC reported. The main opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, was barred from the race because of an embezzlement conviction that he said was manufactured by the Kremlin.