MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The vote is expected to gauge the public opinion ahead of the 2016 federal parliamentary election, scheduled for September 18.
Polling stations are set to open at 8:00 a.m. across the country’s eleven time zones, with about 59 million eligible voters expected to cast their ballots.
In the easternmost Kamchatka Peninsula on the Pacific Ocean, where stations are due to close in less than three hours, the voter turnout stood at 22.56 percent or 53,879 people, as of 3 p.m. local time (3:00GMT), according to the regional election committee.
Voting began on schedule in Russia’s 18 central regions, while the westernmost Kaliningrad exclave on the Baltic Sea will join in in less than an hour.
A total of 11,000 elections will be held in 83 constituencies on Sunday. Regions will elect 21 governors from around a hundred contenders who represent 16 parties, while 11 federal subjects will choose parliament members.
