MOSCOW, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Russia's incumbent President Vladimir Putin leads with 74.22 percent of the vote in Sunday's presidential election after 40 percent of ballots counted, showed preliminary data from the Russian Central Election Commission (CEC).

Communist Party candidate Pavel Grudinin gets 14.02 percent of the vote after 40 percent of ballots counted, while head of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia Vladimir Zhirinovsky receives 6.51 percent, the data showed.

Civil Initiative party candidate Ksenia Sobchak secures 1.41 percent of the vote.

As of 1500 GMT the voter turnout stood at 59.93 percent, according to the CEC.