United Russia Leads With 57.76% After 82% of Ballots Counted in State Duma Election

 United Russia Leads With 57.76% After 82% of Ballots Counted in State Duma Election Russia’s ruling United Russia party held a commanding l...

 United Russia Leads With 57.76% After 82% of Ballots Counted in State Duma Election

Russia’s ruling United Russia party held a commanding lead in the party-list vote for the State Duma after the Central Election Commission processed 82.19% of precinct protocols, official figures showed early Monday. Four parties were above the 5% threshold needed to enter parliament on the federal list, while A Just Russia sat just below it.

According to the CEC:

- United Russia — 57.76%

- Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) — 13.89%

- Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) — 8.77%

- New People — 7.97%

- A Just Russia — 4.99%

Smaller parties remained well short of the barrier, including the Party of Pensioners (about 2.1%), the Greens (about 1.1%), Communists of Russia, Rodina, and the Party of Direct Democracy.

The three-day vote ran from September 18 to 20. Half of the Duma’s 450 seats are allocated by party list; the other half are filled in 225 single-member districts. United Russia was also leading in the large majority of those districts, putting the party on course for a constitutional majority of at least 300 seats if the trend holds. CEC deputy chairman Nikolai Bulaev said the party was likely to secure that supermajority. Final official results are not expected before September 25.

In remote electronic voting, excluding Moscow’s separate system and Kaliningrad, the picture was different. United Russia received 49.06%, New People placed second with 15.42%, and the CPRF third with 12.26%. LDPR and A Just Russia followed. Turnout on the federal electronic platform was reported as very high. Overall turnout was given at about 56–57%, higher than in the 2021 Duma election.

United Russia’s list share was running well above its 49.82% result in 2021 and above some exit polls, which had put the party closer to 49–53%. The vote took place during wartime, with no independent opposition on the ballot. Yabloko was barred. All parties currently above the threshold have supported the war in Ukraine. Critics describe the contest as tightly controlled; Russian officials said the vote proceeded despite cyberattacks and threats to commission members.

A Just Russia’s position remained the closest to the cutoff. Earlier in the count it had hovered just above 5%; by 82.19% of protocols it had slipped to 4.99%. Later updates after more than 90% of protocols were processed showed it still below the barrier. Even if it fails to win list seats, some of its candidates were competitive in single-member districts.

The first session of the ninth Duma is expected no later than October 19, likely in the first half of the month. The incoming chamber is projected to remain firmly aligned with the Kremlin.

Family Writers Press International