New Delhi, September 21: Russia’s ruling United Russia party retained its decisive majority in the national parliament, with more than 95% of votes counted, according to the Central Electoral Commission on Monday, as per a report by Reuters. The three-day election to the State Duma was the first parliamentary election since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Elections for regional parliaments and governors were also held.
Central Electoral Commission chair Ella Pamfilova said United Russia secured 57.83% of the vote, up from 49.8% in the 2021 parliamentary election. The party was set to control 355 of the Duma’s 450 seats, or nearly 80%, maintaining its constitutional majority. This allows it to pass laws and initiate constitutional amendments without support from other parties.
The Communist Party received 13.81%, followed by the ultra-nationalist LDPR with 8.98% and New People with 7.96%, Pamfilova said. Just Russia remained below the 5% threshold required to enter parliament but had a “big chance” of crossing it.
The election was presented by President Vladimir Putin as a test of public support for the war. However, critics have described Russia’s political system as tightly controlled and said it does not tolerate genuine dissent. Many candidates from the anti-war Yabloko party were barred from contesting.
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