NOVOSIBIRSK, Sep 22Elected by a majority of votes in the elections held on September 10 and 11, Governor of the Tomsk Region Vladimir Mazur took office on Thursday, RIA Novosti correspondent reports. “It is a high honor and high responsibility for me to be elected governor of one of the key regions of Russia… I parted from my native land for only 15 years in order to return and give my experience and knowledge to my homeland,” Mazur said during the ceremony, which was broadcast online. He noted that in the time since the appointment of the acting governor, he managed to travel around the entire Tomsk region, «wound» about 10 thousand kilometers and everywhere saw people's desire for change and the need for an open dialogue.
September 12, 05:48 Infographic Results of the elections of heads of regions of Russia Assuming the office of governor of the Tomsk region, Mazur took an oath and swore to honor his powers honestly and conscientiously, to serve the prosperity of the region and the well-being of its inhabitants. Deputy presidential envoy to Siberia Vadim Golovko said that the election results showed a high assessment by residents of the Tomsk region of the work of Mazur in recent months. He noted that the Tomsk region has all the resources and potential for successful development, and the most important tasks for the regional authorities are to support the most important sectors of the economy under sanctions pressure. A week ago, on September 15, the Regional Electoral Committee officially recognized the — elections of the governor held. Acting Governor Mazur received more than half of the votes and was recognized as elected to the post. He received 198,829 votes (84.94%). The final turnout was 30.93%. Mazur's closest competitor, Tomsk Regional Duma deputy Galina Nemtseva (Fair Russia), received 6.08% of the vote, Tomsk Duma deputy Andrey Petrov (KPRF) — 5.31%, and lawyer Viktor Grinev ( Russian Party of Pensioners for Social Justice) — 2.11% of the vote. As reported, Russian President Vladimir Putin on May 10 appointed Mazur acting governor of the Tomsk region, after the former head of the region, Sergei Zhvachkin, announced his resignation. September 19
