70% TO VOTE FOR PUTIN, SAYS RUSSIAN OPINION PROBE

MOSCOW, FEBRUARY 20, (RIA NOVOSTI) - 69.9 per cent are determined to vote for incumbent Vladimir Putin in Russia's presidential election of March 14, says an opinion probe the Moscow-based Public Opinion foundation made, February 14-15, with 1,500 respondents in more than a hundred settlements.

Other presidential hopefuls were far behind. Nikolai Kharitonov, nominated by the Communist and Agrarian parties, scored 3.3 per cent, and self-nominees Sergei Glazyev and Irina Hakamada, 2.2 and 2.1, respectively. The other hopefuls scored less than 1 per cent each. These were Sergei Mironov, Speaker of the Federation Council-parliament's upper house; Liberal Democratic nominee Oleg Malyshkin; and self-nominee Ivan Rybkin, currently staying in London.

4.2 per cent of the respondents are determined to vote against all, and 6.4 per cent will not come to the polls.

Close on 90 per cent were sure Vladimir Putin would win. An overwhelming majority of pollees thought Sergei Glazyev would come next to the incumbent.

Irina Hakamada and Ivan Rybkin led the probe for negative forecasts-a respective 42 per cent and 29.