Reuters: Russia voting underway 02 March

Russia's presidential vote on Sunday officially has four candidates, though only one stands out among them -- Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, Vladimir Putin's handpicked successor. A look at the election which will force Putin to step down -- though he is unlikely to cede power completely.

The choice came days after Putin announced a plan to hold onto power after his term ends. Putin said that if his close ally, Dmitry Medvedev, wins next year's presidential vote, he would serve as Medvedev's prime minister.

Dmitry Medvedev swept to power in the first round of Russia's presidential election, with 70 percent of votes, according to an official count announced Monday. Vladimir Putin will cede him the office but not all power, as Medvedev has pledged to appoint him as prime minister and continue to collaborate closely.

Medvedev, 42, who will be the youngest Russian leader since Tsar Nicholas II when he is sworn in on May 7, has asked former President Putin to be his prime minister. Putin, 55, was prevented by term limits from running for re-election. The Election Commission said voter turnout neared 70 percent.

Russians are voting in a presidential election seen by critics as rigged to hand victory to Vladimir Putin's chosen successor, Dmitry Medvedev. He faces three challengers, but overwhelming victory is almost a foregone conclusion. Medvedev has promised to appoint Putin, who will have served as president for eight years, as his prime minister. Voters speak their mind.

On March 2nd, Russians will vote for President Vladimir Putin's successor. There's not much of an election campaign, little debate and voters appear indifferent. The reason: everyone already knows the result. Kremlin favourite Dmitry Medvedev is expected to pick up some 80 percent of votes cast because a vote for him is seen as a vote for the hugely popular Putin. An AFPTV report from Novosibirsk, Russia's third-largest city.

The exit polls results are in line with expectations. Medvedev was the candidate chosen by outgoing President Vladimir Putin to succeed him after eight years in office.

Serbia again finds itself at the crossroads ahead of an election pitting a pro-Westerner against an ally of wartime leader Slobodan Milosevic. More than seven years after the former strongman's ouster, the presidential runoff on Sunday opposes ultra-nationalist challenger Tomislav Nikolic and incumbent Boris Tadic in what appears to be a neck-and-neck race to the finish. The result could determine whether Serbia moves closer to Europe, or back into isolation, for the next five years. An AFPTV report.

After nearly 4,000 U.S. lives lost, 30,000 wounded, $500 billion spent -- Iraq is now a key presidential campaign issue in a country divided by the war. Jon Decker reports from Washington.