Election for 9th State Duma, the lower house of parliament
MOSCOW: The Russian Central Election Commission Monday announced that the ruling United Russia party secured 57.83 percent of the votes in the election for the 9th State Duma, the lower house of parliament. This outcome is expected to strengthen President Vladimir Putin's authority.
Addressing a press conference in Moscow, Commission's Chairperson Ella Pamfilova stated that with 95.18 percent of ballots counted, United Russia led the elections, with the Communist Party of the Russian Federation following at 13.81 percent and the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia at 8.98 percent. Other parties included New People with 7.96 percent and A Just Russia with 4.96 percent of the votes.
Voter turnout for this election, held from Friday to Sunday, was recorded at 59.32 percent, an increase from the 51.72 percent turnout in 2021.
The State Duma, Russia's permanent legislative body, consists of 450 deputies. The allocation of seats is split between proportional representation based on party lists and single-mandate elections across constituencies using a relative-majority system, with 10 political parties taking part in the election.
The final election results are expected to be released Friday and mark the first parliamentary election following Russia's military operation in Ukraine that started in 2022. Pamfilova also condemned Western leaders and institutions for unjustly criticiing Russia's electoral processes.