Penza, 13 September 2015. PenzaNews. The voter turnout for the September 13 gubernatorial election in the Penza region has already exceeded 70% in three areas of the region.

© PenzaNewsBuy the photo

The biggest turnout at 15.00, 76.91%, was registered in the Neverkino area the Penza region election committee reports.

The Lopatino and Bessonovka areas, leaders of the noon turnover data, also remain in the lead, though they lag slightly behind with 74.43% and 74.26% respectively.

The overall turnover rate for the Penza region at 15.00 was calculated at 42.98%.

However, as no minimum turnout level was set beforehand, the election will be deemed valid regardless of the eventual constituent turnout.

As PenzaNews agency reported earlier, September 13 is the day of the Penza region gubernatorial election, as well as special elections of deputies for local government bodies of several municipalities.

All 1,105 polling stations in the Penza region for the gubernatorial election opened at 8.00. They will remain operational until 20.00, at which point vote counting will begin.

All five officially registered candidates – Ivan Belozertsev (United Russia), Vladimir Simagin (CPRF), Zhigansha Tuktarov (LDPR), Vladimir Popkov (“Rodina”) and Gennady Yeroshin (“A Just Russia”) – have cast their votes in their voting areas before 12.00.

Among the people who did the same before noon are the chairman of the Penza region Legislative Assembly Valery Lidin, the Penza city head Victor Kuvaytsev, the State Duma deputy Igor Rudensky, the former governor Vasily Bochkarev, and the first chairman of the CPRF regional committee, regional Legislative Assembly deputy Georgy Kamnev.