Moscow - Russia's acting president, Mr Vladimir Putin, will by supported by between 53 and 55 per cent of voters in Sunday's presidential elections according to the two final opinion polls of the campaign, Seamus Martin reports. The figures were announced just one day after another polling organisation had forecast that Mr Putin would get only 48.8 per cent of the vote and would be forced into a runoff with the Communist candidate, Mr Gennady Zyuganov.
Either way Mr Putin seems certain to be elected. He would comfortably win any run-off ballot against Mr Zyuganov. Only if the third most popular candidate, the liberal economist, Mr Grigory Yavlinsky, overtook the communist and at the same time Mr Putin fell below 50 per cent would there be a real race for the presidency. This combination of circumstances now looks most unlikely to happen.