Putin set for poll triumph

REPORTER'S LOG Wang Huazhong

Snow doesn't slow down eager voters

The lights from street lamps had hardly warmed up by 7:30 am on Sunday when snowplows cleared the way in my suburb to the presidential election ballot post at Moscow State University.

It was -8 C. Wind blew snow falling from the sky into the faces of pedestrians walking cautiously on the slippery road.

I was afraid that I might not find anyone to interview at ballot station No 3181 because of the forbidding weather, but by the time I arrived there were already dozens of constituents waiting to vote.

Many of them told me they were workers from a nearby construction site. They had worked overnight and said they planned on resting after voting.

About 30 minutes after the polls opened, there were already more than 100 people waiting to vote. The police asked them to line up and wait for their turns.

"They are passionate to participate as we can see. We estimated that a large wave of constituents will arrive around 10 am," said Marakhovskaya A. S., deputy of the local election committee.

"The polling station is close to metro and has convenient traffic facilities, so we are not worried about the turnout rate," Marakhovskaya A. S, also a student at the university, added.

My translator and I were allowed to observe and record the poll without much difficulty, though I was told by the Central Election Commission media relations office that journalists must submit documents for an interview pass.

"Each party standing behind every presidential candidate had dispatched five to six observers. There are also observers from the local election committee, police and video cameras to ensure a fair and legal election," an election official told me.

"I can't say that changes will be made by the new leadership for good soon," said voter Alexey Buhamof. "But the reason I'm here is to support a genuine and just election."

Nikita, a political science postgraduate student at the university, told me that he anticipated that the expected winner - Vladimir Putin - will increase political and cultural dialogues between the Russia and China.

"Chinese and Russians are similar. We share the same wishes for a peaceful world, stability and economic prosperity," he said.

"We both use smart power instead of hard, military power to address regional issues. Cooperation between the two countries will be enhanced."