Constitutional amendments vote begins in Russia

Russia’s easternmost regions of Kamchatka and Chukotka were the first to begin the vote, at 23:00 Moscow time on Wednesday.

Vote on amendments to the Russian constitution began on Thursday in Russia’s easternmost regions of Kamchatka and Chukotka, spokespersons for regional election commissions said.

"A total of 183 polling stations will open in Kamchatka today, [including] 66 in the region’s capital. Some of them are already operating, starting from 08:00 local time (23:00 Wednesday Moscow time). On June 10-25, about 4,300 people, including sailors, servicemen, fishing and mining industry workers and residents of the peninsula’s remote regions, cast their ballots in an early vote," an official with the Kamchatka election commission said.

A total of 55 polling stations opened in Chukotka. Some 1,300 people cast their ballots within the two weeks since the start of the early vote, TASS reported.

The vote on amendments to the Russian constitution began on Thursday in all the 14 administrative regions of Russia’s Far Eastern federal district, regional election commissions and administrative bodies said.

In Yakutia, polling stations started their work at 10:00 local time (04:00 Mocow time). The region has 816 polling stations in total, including 25 temporary ones, set up at remote mining facilities, military garrisons and meteorological stations.

The vote in Buryatia began at 03:00 Moscow time (8:00 local time), while the Trans-Baikal Region and the Amur region launched the process an hour earlier, at 2:00 Moscow time.

At 01:00 Moscow time, the vote began in the Primorye and Khabarovsk regions and the Jewish autonomous region.

The Magadan region opened its polling stations at midnight Moscow time.