Grozny, Russia ? Chechens battered by five years of war, terrorism and misery voted Sunday for a president in an election that the Russian government portrayed as a step toward stability, though critics cried fraud in a ballot that appeared certain to put a Kremlin-favorite in office.

Little more than two hours after polls closed, acting Chechen president Sergei Abramov said preliminary results showed Maj. Gen. Alu Alkhanov, the republic’s top police official and the Russian government’s new choice, had already passed the 50 percent mark needed to win, the Interfax news agency reported.

Violence shadowed the balloting. A man blew himself up near a polling station after trying to enter it carrying a package, officials said. Worries about terrorism were stoked by the crashes of two Russian airliners five days before the election; officials said traces of explosives were found in the wreckage, and there are suspicions two Chechen women conducted the suicide attacks.

Seven candidates contended to replace the previous Kremlin-backed Chechen president, Akhmad Kadyrov, who was assassinated in May. But six were seen as having little chance against Maj. Gen. Alu Alkhanov, the republic’s top police official and the Russian government’s new choice.

Candidate Abdullah Bugayev said he had formally complained to election officials after seeing several violations, including an Alkhanov campaign worker who ordered people to vote for him at a polling station. A representative of Movsur Khamidov, another candidate, said he found ballot boxes at a polling place stuffed shortly after the station opened.

“It seems to me the election is quite far from being fair,” Bugayev told The Associated Press.

The election is part of the Kremlin’s strategy to try to undermine support for separatist rebels who have been fighting Russian forces for nearly five years.

Results were expected early this morning.