President Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party has secured a record supermajority in Russia’s parliamentary election, according to near-complete official results, in a vote that excluded virtually any genuine opposition.
United Russia, which has dominated Russian politics for 25 years, secured more than 58 per cent of the vote and is set to win more than three-quarters of the seats in the State Duma, the lower house of parliament. The results were announced on Monday after three days of voting that ended on Sunday, reports Al Jazeera.
The election was the first parliamentary vote since Russian forces invaded Ukraine in 2022. It was also the first to include residents of four Ukrainian regions seized and illegally annexed by Moscow later that year.
Opposition observers turned away
The Communist Party secured 13.8 per cent of the vote and 40 Duma seats, while the nationalist LDPR won 25 seats and the New People party secured 20.
Liberal opposition party Yabloko failed to win seats in the State Duma but entered the regional parliament in western Russia’s Novgorod region. The party said on social media that it received about 12,000 votes, or just over six per cent, enough to enter the regional legislature.
Yabloko and the Communist Party reported that many of their observers were turned away from polling stations.
Western criticism
Concerns over the aftermath of the vote have mounted, with one commentator raising concerns about possible mobilisation, new repression, harsher measures and escalation.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas dismissed Russia’s “so-called” election.
“The Kremlin silenced dissent, barred the only registered party that opposed its war in Ukraine and shut out international election monitors. The veneer of democracy is all that remains in Russia,” Kallas said.
In a joint statement, five countries, including Australia, Britain and Canada, condemned Russia’s “sham” parliamentary elections in areas of occupied Ukraine, describing them as “part of a wider system of occupation”.
