WorldPosted at: Sep 21 2026 6:53PM


Russia election results cement Putin's dominance as United Russia secures sweeping Duma majority

Moscow, Sept 21 (UNI) President Vladimir Putin's dominance of Russian politics is further cemented on Monday as his ruling United Russia party secured a commanding victory in the State Duma election, winning 57.83 per cent of the vote and projected to take 355 of the 450 seats in the lower house of parliament, according to preliminary results.
With 95.18 per cent of ballots counted, United Russia is far ahead of the Communist Party, which has 13.81 per cent, followed by the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) with 8.98 per cent and New People with 7.96 per cent, Central Election Commission (CEC) Chair Ella Pamfilova said.
The result gives United Russia a constitutional majority in the Duma and marks a substantial increase from the 324 seats it won in the 2021 election. The party had secured 49.8 per cent of the party-list vote in 2021.
The three-day election, held from September 18 to 20, is the first parliamentary vote since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Putin has portrayed the election as an important test of national unity and support for Russian forces.
"Your choice and determination will show once again that millions of people are backing our fighters and that we stand together, united by shared values, our historical memory, love for our Motherland," Putin said in a televised address ahead of the vote.
Putin is not a member of United Russia, although he served as its leader from 2008 to 2012. He was not on the ballot in the parliamentary election and is not due to face a presidential election until 2030. He won his latest presidential election in 2024 with nearly 88.5 per cent of the vote.
The elections are marked by a series of firsts. It is the first parliamentary elections since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the first to be held in the four Ukrainian regions Russia claims to have annexed.
The CEC said turnout reached 59.3 per cent, the highest recorded for a State Duma election. Voting was held across Russia's 11 time zones as well as at Russian diplomatic missions abroad.
Although United Russia's victory was widely expected, turnout was closely watched as an indicator of public participation amid the war and its economic and social consequences.
Russia's only registered anti-war party, Yabloko, was barred from contesting the federal party-list election following a Supreme Court ruling. Some of its candidates were allowed to contest individual constituencies, but none secured a seat in the State Duma.
The party nevertheless appeared to cross the five-per-cent threshold in elections to the Novgorod regional parliament, according to preliminary results, giving it a limited foothold at the regional level.
The Kremlin is expected to present United Russia's strong performance as evidence of continued public support for Putin and his policies, including the war in Ukraine.
Voting was also held in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine, including parts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions. Kyiv rejected the voting as illegitimate, while the European union condemned Russia for holding what it called "sham elections" in the occupied territories.
"The so-called Duma elections marked another major setback for Russian democracy. Their outcome was never in doubt. The Kremlin silenced dissent, barred the only registered party that opposed its war in Ukraine, and shut out international election monitors," EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said in a statement.
Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway and the United Kingdom also condemned the holding of elections in the occupied Ukrainian territories, saying it violated Ukraine's sovereignty.
Russia rejected the criticism and maintained that the elections were conducted in accordance with the law.
Remote electronic voting was expanded significantly after being introduced during the 2021 election. The system operated in 33 Russian regions, while Moscow offered incentives to encourage residents to vote electronically rather than use paper ballots.
Critics questioned the transparency of electronic voting, while Russian authorities rejected allegations of manipulation.Putin himself voted electronically, with the Kremlin releasing a video showing him navigating the online voting system and casting his ballot.
Pamfilova said on Monday that Russia had faced an "unprecedented" level of cyber aggression during the election.
"Despite all the challenges, the campaign proceeded in an exceptionally clean and calm manner ... Given the various threats, this was no easy task. Our citizens were virtually unaware of the threats we had to overcome during this campaign, countless DDoS attacks, the unprecedented escalation of cyber-aggression we faced, and many other factors," Pamfilova said at the CEC information centre.
She described the campaign as one of the most difficult both mentally and physically and thanked Russian security agencies and services for protecting election infrastructure.
According to the CEC, more than 3,000 waves of distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks targeted election infrastructure during the voting period. The remote electronic voting system was attacked 135 times, Rostelecom's networks 420 times and electronic government infrastructure nearly 2,000 times, the commission said.
Pamfilova also said 74 buildings housing election commissions in 10 regions were damaged or destroyed during the three days of voting. The Russian authorities' claims about the cyberattacks could not be independently verified.
Apart from United Russia, the Communist Party, LDPR and New People were on course to enter the Duma based on the party-list vote. A Just Russia was close to the five-per-cent threshold and could still qualify for additional seats.
The preliminary distribution put United Russia at 355 seats, the Communists at 40, LDPR at 25 and New People at 20. Rodina is projected to receive one seat and independent candidates four, although the CEC said the distribution remained subject to change until the final count.
More than 380,000 election observers were registered, according to Russian officials, including over 1,000 international observers representing 133 countries and 13 international organisations.
A delegation from the Economic, Social and Environmental Council of the Central African Republic said it has not observed violations while monitoring the election in Moscow.
"Our delegation wishes to offer its congratulations and is very pleased to have witnessed the proper conduct of these truly orderly elections. We did not record any violations during our observation," delegation representative Alfred Tainga Poloko said at a press conference.
He said international observers has also noted the participation of a large number of young people in the electoral process, describing it as a sign of patriotism and civic engagement.UNI AAB
Tags: #Russia election results cement Putin's dominance as United Russia secures sweeping Duma majority
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