Russian Central Election Commission said that the ruling United Russia party has won 57.83 per cent of the votes in the election for the 9th State Duma, the lower house of parliament. The results will help President Vladimir Putin maintain his tight grip on power.
Addressing a press conference in Moscow today, Russian Central Election Commission Chairperson Ella Pamfilova said that after 95.18 per cent of the ballots were counted, United Russia led with 57.83 per cent of the vote, followed by the Communist Party of the Russian Federation with 13.81 per cent and the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia with 8.98 per cent. New People garnered 7.96 per cent and A Just Russia 4.96 per cent of the votes. According to the CEC, turnout in this election, held from Friday to Sunday, was 59.32 per cent, higher than the 51.72 per cent in 2021.
The State Duma is Russia’s permanent legislative body, composed of 450 deputies. Half of the seats are distributed proportionally in accordance with party lists, while the remaining 225 are elected through single-mandate constituencies nationwide under a relative-majority voting system. A total of 10 political parties participated in the election. The final results are expected to be announced on Friday. It was the first parliamentary election after Russian military operation in Ukraine in 2022.
Pamfilova criticised Western leaders and institutions for groundlessly smearing Russia’s elections.
