According to the Russian Central Election Commission (CEC), Medvedev won 70.2 percent of the vote with turnout at 69.7 percent, reports Bloomberg. The Washington Post writes that: “Medvedev was trailed by Communist candidate Gennady Zyuganov, who had 18 percent of the vote. Earlier in the counting, ultranationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky had 10 percent and Andrei Bogdanov, an ostensible liberal, 1.5 percent….Opposition figures such as Garry Kasparov, the chess grandmaster and Putin opponent, said they boycotted the vote, calling it a farce.”

Andreas Gross, chairman of the 22-member delegation of European MPs which observed the election, said: "We believe there was not freedom in these elections […] The results of the presidential elections … are a reflection of the will of an electorate whose democratic potential was, unfortunately, not tapped," reports the Guardian.

Andrei Buzin, an expert from the Russian independent observers Golos, also criticised the elections poll, saying that it was “marred by official pressure to boost voter turnout, ballot stuffing and multiple voting,” according to Reuters. The same article notes that the charges were immediately rejected by the CEC.

CNN reports that: “Medvedev has publicly committed to promote democracy, fight corruption, and bolster the rule of law. But as Kremlin critics point out, Putin made similar promises when he ran, only to be criticized at home and abroad for cracking down on opposition groups.”

In an article by the Associated Press Medvedev is quoted declaring: “A mature civil society is a vital necessity, a foundation, a guarantee of stable development of our nation […] And our task is to create a system when civil society groups participate in setting the government course and assessing its efficiency.” Medvedev “has declared corruption a key threat to modernization and social stability,” according to Reuters.

The Moscow Times reports that: “As president, Medvedev has said he will oversee foreign policy, while Putin, who will become prime minister, will handle economic policy and other issues.”