Results of elections in Chechnya

Elections of the republic's president in Chechnya have come to the end. According to the preliminary results, acting president of the republic Akhmad Kadyrov won the largest amount of the vote. Chechen Central Election Commission Chairman Abdul-Kerim Arsakhanov told it to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

- Dear Abdul-Kerim, would you tell of the voting preliminary results?

- The first place is taken by acting president of Chechnya Akhmad Kadyrov. He won 82.5% of the vote. The second place is taken by Abdula Bugayev (5.6% of the vote). He is followed by Shamil Burayev (3.4%), Husein Biybulatov (1.6%), and Kudus Saduyev (1.3%). Nikolay Payzulayev and Ovkhat Khanchukayev close the list; they both won 0.8% of the vote. But I should specify these figures are not final yet.

- When are the final results expected?

- According to the law, we have five days to count the votes accurately. But I believe three days will be enough for us.

- When the inauguration should be expected?

- In ten days after the final official announcement of the election results.

- How many people took part in the voting?

- Over 462 thousand residents of Chechnya.

- What is the percentage of people who came to vote?

- This figure exceeded 55.6%. As for the district results, the Zavodskoy district has the largest percentage - 98.6%, the Oktyabrsky and Promislovsky districts have 83.6% and 85.9% correspondingly. Mountainous districts of Chechnya did not were behind at all. For example, 93.2% of the voters came to the polling stations in the Sharoysky district, and over 82% of the voters did in the Vedensk district, one of the most troubled regions in Chechnya.

- What is the people's reaction in the republic to the preliminary election results?

- First, the results themselves show people made their choice. Second, the polling station attendance rate shows the people of Chechnya waited for these elections, they wanted to elect their president, the authority in a democratic way, to feel full citizens of the Russian Federation.

- Were there any cases when so call "black technologies" became apparent?

- No, there were not. I can say with confidence all the seven contenders conducted the agitation period in very correct manner, at a high ethic level. The republican population, as well as the observers and journalists who gathered here state it. There were neither insults nor calumny. Each candidate spoke only about himself and his election program while appearing in public.

- What was the general atmosphere in the republic on the election day? There was information different acts of violence could be committed by illegal armed units, wasn't there?

- Fortunately, there were no actions from "that" direction, except for shelling of three election centers on the night of October 5.

- And what about the statements of Maskhadov's supporters?

- To my mind, it was a usual bluff.