Russian servicemen showed up at the polls on Election Day to give President Vladimir Putin their vote with a near-perfect turn-out rate, the Russian Defense Ministry has said.
Putin won a fourth term on Sunday with a total of 76.66 percent of the votes and a turnout rate of 67.5 percent, according to official figures. The Organization for Security an Co-operation in Europe, which on Monday said the vote was carried out without “real choice,” noted measures to increase turnout “involving inappropriate pressure on voters.”
“The troops showed high civic activity and demonstrated unconditional support for the incumbent Russian president, Supreme Commander-in-Chief Vladimir Putin,” Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced Tuesday.
Some 89.7 percent of the 99.2 percent military personnel and their families who showed up voted for Putin, Shoigu added.
Putin also won 100 percent of the votes from Russian military personnel stationed in Syria, the Defense Ministry said Monday, Interfax reported.
