Russia election results: Putin’s United Russia leads as opposition faces tight controls | Today’s news
Russia’s ruling United Russia party is leading the country’s first parliamentary election since the Ukraine war in 2022, with early results showing the Kremlin-backed party comfortably ahead as expected as the opposition was barred from running in a massive crackdown.
With about 58% of the precincts counted, United Russia had nearly 58% of the votes for the 225 State Duma seats allocated through party lists, according to Russia’s Central Election Commission, as cited by the AP.
The party also led in a large majority of the 225 single-seat constituencies.
The results were widely expected to favor United Russia, which has dominated the Russian parliament since President Vladimir Putin came to power in 1999.
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The party won 324 of the 450 seats in the State Duma in the 2021 elections.
The three-day election, held from September 18 to September 20, was the first parliamentary vote in Russia since the war with Ukraine began in February 2022.
Putin has closely associated United Russia with support for his policies, including the war in Ukraine.
Four other established parties — the Communist Party, the Liberal Democratic Party, the Just Russia and the New People — were also on track to retain representation in the 450-member State Duma.
Opposition largely excluded from parliamentary race
The election was held under the restriction of anti-war and liberal opposition groups.
The liberal Jabloko party, which opposed the war, was removed from the national ballot by Russia’s highest court in August. Several anti-war politicians were also jailed, banned from running in elections, or forced to leave the country.
Yabloko candidates said they feared for their freedom after courts handed long prison terms to two senior party officials for comments on the conflict, Reuters reported.
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Russian authorities have used laws against “discrediting” the military and spreading what they say is false information about the armed forces to prosecute critics, with violations carrying long prison sentences.
Jablok leader Nikolai Rybakov defaced his ballot in protest by writing the party’s name along with the slogan “For Peace”.
The “systemic opposition” parties remain in the race
While the most prominent anti-war candidates were prevented from running in the election, several established parties were allowed to participate.
The Communist Party, the Liberal Democratic Party, Just Russia and the New People were on course to retain seats in parliament.
These parties are generally described as the “systemic opposition” and have supported the Kremlin on major issues.
The result means the Kremlin is poised to maintain its dominant position in the State Duma, with United Russia leading both the party candidate vote and single-seat contests.
The Ukrainian war will overshadow the election
The election also took place against a backdrop of intensifying fighting between Russia and Ukraine.
On the final day of the vote, Ukraine launched a large-scale drone strike targeting Moscow and other Russian regions. Russian authorities said the attacks killed people in Moscow Oblast and the Russian-held part of Ukraine’s Kherson region, including an election official.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said the attack was aimed at disrupting the election, but claimed it had failed to achieve that aim.
Ukraine calls Russian vote ‘pseudo-election’
Ukraine has rejected Russian parliamentary elections, especially voting in territories annexed by Moscow.
Residents of Crimea and four Ukrainian regions, which Russia says it has annexed but does not fully control, took part in the election.
Kyiv condemned the vote in those areas as illegal, while the European Union called Russia’s actions there a violation of international law.
With inputs from Reuters, AP
