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Candidates in Last-Ditch Efforts to Woo VotersFriday was the last day allowed under law for Russia's 11 candidates to campaign ahead of the presidential elections Sunday.Acting President Vladimir Putin, who commands a comfortable lead of more than 50 percent in recent surveys, urged the Russian voters to go to the polls Sunday to fulfill their constitutional duty. "I am calling on you and asking you to do just one thing: come to the polling stations and cast your vote. Listen to yourself and make your choice," Putin said in an address televised to the nation. Putin stopped short of telling the electorate to vote for him, but said: "The past three months have shown that despite all hardships resulting from the events on the North Caucasus and actions of our army, the society consolidated in the face of common danger, and we have become stronger." He became the acting head of state on New Year's Eve following former President Boris Yeltsin's abrupt resignation. Communist party leader Gennady Zyuganov, who trails Putin in a distant second place, told supporters he remains confident of making it to the second round in the elections. He even announced a list of cabinet ministers that he will appoint if he is elected president. In addition, he continued his attacks Friday on remarks made by Putin earlier this month hinting that Russia might one day join the NATO if the transatlantic alliance transforms into a political entity and Moscow is treated as an equal. He ruled out even the hypothetical possibility of a Russia inside NATO. "If NATO became an organization from San Francisco to Kamchatka. ..Russia would assume the role of cannon-fodder for attaining Washington-determined objectives," the Interfax news agency quoted Zyuganov as saying. NATO borders would appear near Pskov and Smolensk, he said. " Then the 27 million killed (during the Second World War) would rise and say 'What are you bastards doing? What did we sacrifice our lives for? So that they would be near Smolensk again?'" Zyuganov said. Grigory Yavlinsky, a liberal economist who leads the Yabloko party, was in the third place in opinion polls. He also said he would face Putin in the run-off. "I rest assured of entry into the second round," Yavlinsky said. Starting from midnight Friday, all campaigning will cease to allow the voters a quiet 30 hours to ponder their choices before the polling stations open at 08:00 local time across Russia's 11 time zones. Early voting started on March 15 in remote areas such as polar stations. Servicemen fighting rebels in Chechnya have also cast their votes in early voting in the breakaway republic. Alexander Veshnyakov, chairman of the Central Election Commission, said all necessary arrangements have been made for Sunday's balloting. At a meeting Friday with international observers in the State Duma, or lower house of parliament, Veshnyakov said about 1,000 international observers from 56 countries and 82 international organizations have arrived in Russia. The international observers will join some 500,000 Russian observers sent by candidates to monitor the voting procedures at 94,500 polling stations across the country. A total of 380 polling stations have been set up at Russian embassies and consulates abroad, he said. Ballot counting will begin immediately after the voting ends at 20:00 local time and will take approximately four hours, Veshnyakov said. "We expect data from about 50 percent of the polling stations to come in by 3 a.m. on March 27 (2300 GMT March 26) and from nearly 90 percent between 9 a.m. (06:00 GMT) and 10 a.m. (07:00 GMT)." If none of the candidates wins over 50 percent of the vote, the CEC is prepared to hold a second round on April 16, Veshnyakov said. "A total of 800 million rubles (28 million U.S. dollars) has been set aside for this purpose," he said.
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