A total of 2750 people cast their votes in the Russian presidential elections in Turkmenistan on March 17, as reported by the Russian embassy. This marks a decrease from the 4000 participants in the 2018 elections.
The current elections in Turkmenistan are witnessing a record turnout in Russian history. The decrease in the number of voters is unlikely due to low turnout but rather attributed to mass migration. In recent years, more people have been leaving the country, and those with Russian citizenship are among the first to make this decision.
Regarding the preliminary results, as of the morning of March 18, at the polling station in Ashgabat, 95.2% of Russians voted for Vladimir Putin. In Turkmenbashi, 95% of voters also supported Putin, while in Turkmenabad, 98.7% favored the incumbent president, and in Mary and Dashoguz, the percentages were 98.1%.
According to the official information from the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation on the morning of March 18, a total of 87.2% of voters cast their ballots for Putin. Nikolai Haritonov received 4.3% of the votes, Vladislav Davankov 3.8%, and Leonid Slutsky 3.2%.
The opposition project "Vote Abroad" presented exit poll results from various countries, showing that in some states, more than half of the votes were for Davankov (which contradicts the official results). However, no exit polls were conducted in Turkmenistan. Central Asian countries represented in the project include Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. In Uzbekistan, 35% of voters chose Putin, while 18% voted for Davankov. In Kazakhstan, the results were 8% for Putin and 69% for Davankov, and in Kyrgyzstan, 35% and 44% respectively.
