Grozny, Russia ? In their war-shattered capital and impoverished villages, Chechens voted for a president Sunday in an election condemned by critics as a sham but promoted by the Kremlin as a step toward ending a decade of violence and chaos.

Akhmad Kadyrov had about 85 percent of the vote, according to preliminary and unofficial tallies reported by the ITAR-Tass news agency. About 44 percent of the vote had been counted by early today.

The chief of the regional election commission, Abdul-Kerim Arsakhanov, said Kadyrov’s victory was beyond doubt, ITAR-Tass reported. Official figures were expected later today.

The results so far were not a surprise. Kadyrov had been widely expected to win, especially after his leading challengers withdrew or were cast out of the race.

In the capital, where ruined hulks of buildings rise like broken teeth, and in impoverished villages, many Chechens turned out in suits and fine dresses to vote. But others disdained the proceedings as a farce.

Cynical voters

“In my view all of Russia is far from democracy, and not just Chechnya,” said Liza Vishayeva, as she passed a polling station that was the only building on her Grozny block without holes chewed into it by artillery. She said she hadn’t voted and doubted the election would bring significant improvement.

“To change this to a peaceful situation would be very tough,” she said.

Russian forces are widely alleged to have killed and raped civilians during Chechnya’s current war, which began in September 1999 with a massive air and ground assault but has devolved into a bloody stalemate. The Russians pound Chechen rebels with heavy weaponry and insurgents stage daily ambushes with explosives and hit-and-run attacks.

Khamzat Mutiyeva, 70, and her daughter Ayna, 36, vote in a hospital in Grozny. Chechens voted for a president Sunday in an election ordered by the Kremlin and promoted as a step toward stability for the war-ruined region.

Ugly war

This war followed the 1994-96 conflict that ended with Russian forces withdrawing after rebels fought them to a standstill.

Human rights advocates questioned the fairness of a vote held during a war and condemned the election as a political farce heavily tilted in Kadyrov’s favor. Major Western governments, including the United States, have been cautious about criticism, expressing hope that the vote can help foster a political solution of the conflict.

Chechen rebels have also mounted attacks outside the region, including a hostage-taking raid on a Moscow theater last October and suicide bombings at a Moscow rock concert this summer.

Even Kadyrov said the region’s suffering would be hard to turn around.

“I would like to say that tomorrow the sun will rise from the place where it sets,” Kadyrov told a news conference in the tree-lined courtyard of his house in the village of Tsentoroi. “But what will be different tomorrow is that I will be legally elected.”

Russian officials and lawmakers have discussed substantial autonomy for Chechnya, but no terms have been reached. Still, the Kremlin hopes the election will be seen as a sign of civil order returning to the region.