Russians vote for new president

 　　MOSCOW, March 4 (Xinhua) -- Voting began on Sunday in Russia's Far East in the presidential election which almost certain to hand victory to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

　　As Russia's vast territory encompasses¹ nine time zones, voting first began in its Far Eastern regions, including Kamchatka and Magadan, at 08:00 a.m. local time (20:00 GMT Saturday), while voters in other parts of the Russian territory still have to wait for several hours to vote.

　　Local media said that some 65 percent of the 109 million eligible² voters are expected to cast their ballots³ in some 94,000 domestic polling stations and 384 overseas stations in more than 140 countries.

　　Voters in Kaliningrad, the westmost exclave of Russia located between Poland and Lithuania, will be the last on the Russian territory to cast their ballots at 21:00 Moscow time (1700 GMT) on Sunday.

　　The candidates running for the election are incumbent⁴ Prime Minister Putin, leader of the Communist Party Gennady Zyuganov, Vladimir Zhirinovsky from the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia ( LDPR), Sergei Mironov from A Just Russia party and an independent and billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov.

　　Opinion polls show that most voters are expected to support 59- year-old Putin who had served two terms as president from 2000 to 2008.

1 encompasses   

v.围绕( encompass的第三人称单数 )；包围；包含；包括

参考例句：

• The job encompasses a wide range of responsibilities. 这项工作涉及的职责范围很广。
• Its conservation law encompasses both its magnitude and its direction. 它的守恒定律包括大小和方向两方面。 来自辞典例句

2 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

3 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。