BEIJING, Sept. 9 (Xinhuanet) -- Partial results from the Moscow mayoral election suggest that Kremlin-backed candidate Sergei Sobyanin is set to win the vote.

According to Russia’s state-run polling center, Sobyanin won 53 percent of the vote. His major rival, opposition leader Alexei Navalny, got 32 percent, while Communist Party candidate Ivan Melnikov came in third, receiving 8 percent.

If Sobyanin’s first-round win is confirmed, Russian President Vladimir Putin will have a close ally running the Russian capital.

(Source: cntv.cn)