President Vladimir Putin is set to retain his political dominance after the three-day vote saw little opposition, initial figures released Monday by the Central Election Commission show. Russia’s ruling United Russia party has been leading the country’s first parliamentary election since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Election held amid major Ukrainian drone attacks
Turnout stood at 56.66% when polling closed on Sunday, the election commission said. Over 111 million Russians were eligible to vote. United Russia has dominated parliament since Putin came to power and won 324 of 450 seats in 2021. Russia’s defence ministry said its forces intercepted 1,110 Ukrainian drones across Russia, Crimea and the Black Sea . Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin put that number at 1,600. Earlier reporting noted: Russia on Sunday wrapped up its first parliamentary election since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with President Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party widely expected to retain its overwhelming control of the State Duma.
Independent outlet SotaVision reported glitches at polling stations, with some voters unable to get paper ballots and directed to electronic terminals instead.
Moscow’s electronic voting system was targeted by cyberattacks, election commission chief Ella Pamfilova said. The Kremlin was widely expected to retain control of the State Duma. The final day of voting saw a major wave of Ukrainian drone attacks on Russia.
Opposition parties report voting violations
Yabloko and the Communist Party said some of their observers were denied access to polling stations, AP reported.
Moscow cited “double standards”, while OSCE officials said the decision breached Russia’s commitments. Russia did not invite OSCE election observers.
