The Exit Polls Are in From the Russian Election, and You'll Never Guess Who Won

I’m not a big fan of the clickbait headline, but it’s a good gag in this case because the results were never in doubt.

Vladimir Putin will lead Russia for another six years, after securing an expected victory in the presidential election.

A Russian state exit poll gave him 73.9% of the vote, easily defeating his closest competitor.

The main opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, was barred from the race.

The scale of victory – which had been widely predicted – was a marked increase in his share of the vote from 2012, when he won 64%.

In all seriousness, let’s not call this an election. It’s a charade. The only meaning o the 74% number is how blatant Putin wants to make it.

A good point. Putin's much higher numbers would reflect the global decline in willingness to defend democracy, especially in USA. Why not go for 80%? 99%? Authoritarians are admired, not shunned. https://t.co/oYhvVP8IuD

— Garry Kasparov (@Kasparov63) March 18, 2018

I’m looking forward to Trump issuing his congratulations. My guess is that he’ll use the chance to call the “election” a sham and issue his harshest condemnation yet of the recent assassination attempt on British soil. LOL. Make sure to tip your waitresses, try the veal, I’m here all week.

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