Putin Congratulates Incumbent Moscow Mayor Sobyanin On Re-Election - Kremlin

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 10th September, 2018) Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated incumbent Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, who is currently leading in the mayoral election with 70.02 percent of the votes after 99 percent of ballots have been counted, on his re-election as the head of the Russian capital, the presidential office said on Monday.

"In a phone conversation Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Sergei Sobyanin on his victory in the Moscow mayoral election," the Russian presidential office told journalists.

Sobyanin, who has already declared his victory in the mayoral vote, said that for him, this election was different from the previous vote, stressing that this time, he ran for his last term as Moscow's mayor.

Under the Russian law, one person cannot be re-elected for the mayor's position more than twice.

"We have planned to do so many things, we have taken so many obligations that during these coming years we will have to work harder than during the past years. We will have to do far more than we have done during the past five years. This means that tomorrow the whole team will roll up their sleeves and work," Sobyanin said in a speech at his election headquarters.

He also expressed gratitude to Moscow residents for their support.

Sobyanin came to power in 2010 after the previous long-time mayor Yuri Luzhkov was dismissed. In 2013, Sobyanin was elected at the mayoral vote with 51.4 percent of the vote.