Moscow, Sept 21:
Russia’s ruling United Russia party was heading for a comfortable victory in the country’s parliamentary election, with partial official results showing the party securing 57.5 per cent of the vote.
The election was held amid a heavily restricted political environment, with no major opposition force posing a significant challenge to the ruling party President Vladimir Putin had presented the election as a test of public support for his policies, including Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine. The vote was the first parliamentary election in Russia since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Other parties, including the Communist Party, LDPR, New People and Just Russia, were trailing United Russia by a wide margin but were on course to secure seats in the 450-member State Duma.
Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council and a former president, said United Russia had performed with dignity. He said the result demonstrated that Russians had entrusted the party with continuing to govern the country.
The election coincided with a large-scale Ukrainian drone attack targeting Moscow and other Russian regions. The attack was described as one of the largest of its kind and came as Russians were casting their ballots in the parliamentary election.