Russian President Vladimir Putin’s party, United Russia, has won a record 355 out of 450 seats in the country’s parliamentary elections. Ella Pamfilova, head of the Central Election Commission, announced this information on Monday, citing preliminary results.
With this outcome, Russia’s ruling party has secured an even larger constitutional majority compared to the 2016 election, in which United Russia had won 343 seats.
After counting more than 95 percent of the votes this time, it was found that United Russia secured 57.83 percent of the vote in the party-list category. In the 2021 election, the party had received 49.82 percent of the vote.
Pamfilova stated that United Russia candidates are also leading in 208 of the 225 single-mandate constituencies.
In the party-list vote, the Communist Party received 13.81 percent of the vote. Following them, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDPR) secured 8.98 percent, and the New People Party received 7.96 percent. A Just Russia received 4.96 percent of the vote.
The country’s three-day election concluded yesterday, Sunday. According to the Central Election Commission, voter turnout was approximately 59.32 percent; in the 2021 election, this figure stood at 51.72 percent.
More than 111 million voters were eligible to cast their ballots via polling stations and remote electronic voting. A total of 10 parties contested the national party-list vote this time, including United Russia, the Communist Party, LDPR, A Just Russia, and the New People Party.
Additionally, Rodina, Communists of Russia, the Greens, the Pensioners’ Party, and the Party of Direct Democracy also participated.
The Yabloko party was not permitted to participate in the national party-list ballot; however, some of the party’s candidates did contest seats in single-mandate constituencies.
This was Russia’s first parliamentary election since the launch of the full-scale military operation in Ukraine in 2022. The election took place amidst the ongoing conflict. Voting also took place in various Ukrainian territories currently under Russian control.
A mixed electoral system is used for electing members to Russia’s State Duma; 225 seats are determined through votes based on national party lists, while the remaining 225 seats are filled through single-member constituencies.
At least 301 seats are required to secure a constitutional majority in the State Duma.
