DATE=10/6/2003

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=CHECHNYA-ELECT (S-UPDATE)

NUMBER=2-308291

BYLINE=LISA MCADAMS

DATELINE=MOSCOW

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: The man viewed as the Kremlin's candidate in Chechnya's weekend presidential election, Akhmad Kadyrov, has won the race, according to official, final results. V-O-A's Lisa McAdams in Moscow reports he defeated six other candidates.

TEXT: The chairman of the region's election commission says that with a majority of the votes now counted, Mr. Kadyrov secured just over 81-percent of the vote, and is the official winner.

Voter turnout is said to have exceeded 80-percent, a figure that raised immediate doubt among journalists, who say the number of voters appeared relatively low.

The result comes as no surprise to critics, who say the election was rigged in favor of Mr. Kadyrov, a Kremlin appointee. In the days leading up to the vote, candidates who were polling higher than Mr. Kadyrov, either withdrew or were removed from the race.

The other six candidates on the ballot reportedly secured between one and five-percent of the vote.

Mr. Kadyrov says his first priority will be to secure peace in the southern Russian republic. (SIGNED)

NEB/LAM/ALW/RAE