(27 Jan 1997) Natural Sound
The polling stations across Chechnya have now closed after the first free elections in this breakaway republic.
They were kept open for an extra two hours to cope massive turnout of voters, there to choose a president and parliament 517-thousand people were registered to vote.
Front-runner for the Presidency is the leader of the guerrilla fighters, 45-year-old Aslan Maskhadov.
Voting in Chechnya has finished two hours after the polls were officially meant to close.
Armed guards stood at the doors of this polling station where counting is taking place.
Inside, under the watchful eyes of the international observers, the official papers were being sorted to ensure there was no ballot rigging.
There are more than 100 observers from 17 countries monitoring the country's first election, which many voters hope will lead to independence from Russia.
The Official Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (O-S-C-E) who are in Chechnya say they are impressed by the smoothness of the process.
Ballot boxes were sealed and officially stamped to ensure no tampering could take place.
They were then moved to the counting table and opened as the process of sorting the ballots began.
The Chechens had 16 presidential candidates to choose from. They were also voting for 63 local assembly seats from 850 candidates standing.
Armed guards have been positioned outside to prevent unauthorised entry during the count, which is expected to go on all night.
Early results are expected on Tuesday morning.
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