WATCH: Video shows how Russian election was allegedly rigged
CCTV footage has emerged showing alleged ballot rigging by officials during the recent Russian election.
Russia's Vladimir Putin secured another six years in power after a record election win, but international leaders were slow to congratulate him today amid a new spike in tensions, as opponents accused him of vote rigging.
Opposition and independent monitors reported ballot stuffing and other cases of alleged fraud.
A number of videos show election officials who are supposed to guarantee the fairness of elections stuffing per completed ballots into ballot boxes.
The worst part of it is this happened in different regions around Russia and could be the reason for Putin a landslide re-election victory on Sunday.
Putin, who is already Russia's longest-serving leader since Joseph Stalin and is now set to rule until at least 2024 and ruled out any question of remaining president for life.
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"What, am I going to sit here until I am 100 years old? No," he told reporters late on Sunday when asked if he would run again in 2030.
The Russian strongman ran against seven candidates, but his most vocal opponent Alexei Navalny was barred from the ballot for legal reasons, and the final outcome was never in doubt.
"I see in this (result) the confidence and hope of our people," a beaming Putin told supporters who had gathered in a square next to the Kremlin on Sunday.