Putin set to win Russian presidential elections with 87 of the vote

KUWAIT, March 17 (KUNA) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to win a fifth term by a landslide of 87 percent, according to a Russian exit poll on Sunday.
According to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) at least 80 protesters have been arrested in Russian cities on the final day of a vote set to confirm Vladimir Putin in office.
Earlier, minutes after polls closed, the head of the Russian Central Election Commission (CEC) said Putin was in the lead with 87.9 percent of the vote, with 24.4 percent of the count in.
The result means Putin will rule until at least 2030, when he will be 77yrs.
Russia's longest-serving leader since Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, he will secure a third full decade of rule.
The early result means Putin, 71yrs, will easily secure a new six-year term that would enable him to overtake Josef Stalin and become Russia's longest-serving leader for more than 200 years.
Putin won 87.8 percent of the vote, the highest ever result in Russia's post-Soviet history, according to an exit poll by pollster the Public Opinion Foundation (FOM).
The Russian Public Opinion Research Centre (VCIOM) put Putin on 87 percent.
Communist candidate Nikolai Kharitonov came second with just under 4 percent, newcomer Vladislav Davankov third, and ultra-nationalist Leonid Slutsky fourth. (end) mb