Vladivostok, Feb 25 (IANS): Early voting in remote areas for the Russian presidential election has begun in the regions of the Far East, local media reported on Sunday.

Quoted by Russia's TASS news agency, Igor Shamraev, deputy chairman of the regional electoral commission of Kamchatka, said that about 30,000 people in Kamchatka could cast their ballots early. They include reindeer herders, meteorological station workers, lighthouse keepers and service members at isolated outposts.

The Federation Council of Russia has scheduled the presidential elections for March 17, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Central Election Commission of Russia has decided to extend the voting period to three days, from March 15 to 17, making it the first three-day presidential election in Russia.

In Yakutia, early voting in hard-to-reach and remote areas is expected to cover 129,000 voters. The Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia has informed its employees of the planned routes to ensure the safety of the commission members.

In the Khabarovsk territory, early voting has been organised for residents of hard-to-reach areas, shift workers, workers in the timber and mining industries and meteorological station workers, among others.

More than 4,000 voters in remote and hard-to-reach areas will participate in early voting in Chukotka.

Nikolai Goncharov, chairman of the electoral commission of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, said that members of the precinct electoral commissions would reach them by helicopter and all-terrain vehicles.