Russia’s ruling United Russia party was on course to keep its dominant majority in the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, after a three-day national election held from September 19 to 21. With about 95 percent of ballots counted, the Central Election Commission reported that United Russia had won 57.86 percent of the party-list vote. Officials put national turnout at just under 57 percent. The vote was spread over three days, a format the authorities said was intended to ease access to polling stations.
The Communist Party placed second with 13.84 percent, followed by the Liberal Democratic Party at 8.9 percent, the New People party at 7.94 percent and A Just Russia at 4.95 percent. United Russia was projected to take 225 seats allocated through party lists, with additional seats decided in single-member districts. The chamber has 450 seats in total, split evenly between the two methods of selection. The results pointed to little change in the balance of a chamber that has broadly supported the Kremlin’s legislative agenda.
Voting took place across Russia and in four Ukrainian regions that Moscow claims to have annexed: Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia. Ukraine’s government rejected the election as illegal and said it would not recognize any results from those areas. Several Western governments echoed that position. Russian authorities defended the vote and said participation in the regions was part of their administration.
The election was conducted against the backdrop of the continuing war in Ukraine. Russian officials reported drone strikes during the voting period, and local authorities said five people were killed. Most candidates who had campaigned against the war were barred from taking part. The leader of the liberal Yabloko party said he had deliberately spoiled his ballot in protest at the limited choice on offer.
Independent monitoring of Russian elections has narrowed in recent years, and few international observers were present for the vote. United Russia held a commanding majority in the outgoing Duma, and the newly elected chamber is expected to convene later in the year. The next presidential election is not scheduled until 2030, leaving the party positioned to shape legislation through the rest of the current political cycle.
