Vladimir Putin tearfully proclaimed that it was "an open and honest struggle" that sealed his victory in Russia's presidential election Sunday, contradicting claims of electoral fraud by independent observers of the vote.
Tears rolled down Putin's cheeks as he addressed thousands of supporters in Moscow after fewer than one-quarter of the ballots had been counted.
"I promised that we would win and we have won!" Putin shouted. "We have won in an open and honest struggle."
Putin, 59, said the election showed that "our people can easily distinguish a desire for renewal and revival from political provocations aimed at destroying Russia's statehood and usurping power."
He concluded his speech by shouting, "Glory to Russia!"
Many of the flag-waving and cheering supporters were either government workers or employees of state-owned companies who were told that they had to attend the rally near the Kremlin.
Russia's Central Election Commission reported late Sunday that with more than 80 per cent of precincts counted, Putin led with 65 per cent support. Earlier exit polls had pegged his support at 59 per cent.
Communist Party candidate Gennady Zyuganov garnered approximately 18 per cent of the vote, according to exit polls, while nationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky, socialist Sergei Mironov and billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov all saw single-digit support.
Opposition forces and independent observers claim the vote was marred by widespread violations. A massive protest is already being planned for downtown Moscow on Monday.
"These elections are not free ... that's why we'll have protests tomorrow. We will not recognize the president as legitimate," said Mikhail Kasyanov, who was Putin's first prime minister before going into opposition.
Despite the presence of web cameras and election monitors, civilian observers have already logged more than 1,000 complaints of irregular voting practices. While the validity of the complaints is unclear, the grievances have provided fuel for those who allege that the election was manipulated.
The legitimacy of the vote, largely viewed as a referendum on Putin, had been a crucial issue for all five presidential candidates in the run up to this election day.
When Russians headed to the polls in last December's parliamentary elections, allegations of widespread fraud triggered an unprecedented rash of protests against Putin.
This time around, Putin, who became prime minister after leaving the presidency due to term limits, was determined to give the vote a semblance of transparency. Webcams were set up in polling stations and candidates enlisted the help of vote monitors.
"Authorities here are going to great lengths to try to show that this election is fair," Â鶹´«Ã½ Correspondent Ben O'Hara-Byrne said from Moscow on Sunday. "The opposition of course aren't convinced."
Some allege there have been questionable registration methods at the ballot boxes, while others report seeing individuals casting multiple ballots.
Independent election watchdog Golos says it's receiving reports of "carousel voting," a practice in which groups of voters are transported to different polling stations to cast ballots multiple times.
After polls closed, the agency said it could receive as many complaints as it did in December.
"If during the parliamentary elections, we saw a great deal of ballot-box stuffing and carousel voting ... this time we saw the deployment of more subtle technologies," said Andrei Buzin, who heads the monitoring operations at Golos.
Some of the opposition candidates reported that their own observers were expelled from polling stations, while Oksana Dmitriyeva, a parliamentary deputy from Mironov's party, tweeted that she saw "numerous cases of observers being expelled."
Stanislav Govorukhin, Putin's campaign chief, called claims of electoral fraud "ridiculous."
O'Hara-Byrne noted that each candidate had something to gain by trumpeting the merits of a fair election.
"Each side benefits," he told Â鶹´«Ã½ Channel on Sunday. "Putin's side benefits from making this election look clean, and his opponents certainly benefit from having it look like he's cheating."
While Putin's webcam proposal was intended to give the impression of transparency, it has also had some unintended consequences.
The cameras, which have captured two million hours of video in 90,000 polling stations, recorded some unusual scenes from voting halls. Screenshots from a live feed at one station show a clothed couple locked in a heavy embrace, while footage from another camera reveals a retirement party complete with dancing revellers.
Civilians also joined the push to promote transparency. Tens of thousands of individuals volunteered to be election volunteers. Activist groups across the country trained willing participants on how to recognize election violates.
Despite effort on all sides, many anticipated that Sunday's vote would be a repeat of December's hotly contested parliamentary election.
"I know the KGB will be in power . . . but I gave it a try," voter Natalya Yulskaya said of Putin, a former KGB deputy boss, after casting her ballot for billionaire Prokhorov.
With files from The Associated Press
