United Russia leads as Russia’s wartime parliamentary vote closes
Initial results put Vladimir Putin’s ruling party ahead after a tightly controlled election marked by reported drone attacks and disputed voting in Russian-held Ukrainian territories.
Polls have closed in Russia’s first parliamentary election since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022, with initial results showing ruling United Russia comfortably ahead.
The Central Election Commission reported turnout of 56.66 per cent at the close of polling. Official preliminary results and confirmed turnout were expected on Monday, while the final distribution of seats remained unsettled.
Russian authorities reported Ukrainian drone strikes and attacks affecting electronic voting systems and communication lines. They said the voting process was largely unaffected, but reported that drone attacks killed at least three people in the Moscow region and two in Russian-held Kherson, including an election official. The claims were not independently verified in the source material.
The election covered all 450 State Duma seats, with half allocated through party lists and half contested in single-seat constituencies. United Russia was widely expected to retain its dominant position amid restrictions on anti-war politicians, the removal of Yabloko from the party ballot and the absence of observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
Voting also took place in Russian-held Ukrainian territories, including areas Moscow claims to have annexed but does not fully control. Ukraine condemned the vote as illegal and urged foreign governments not to recognise its result, while the European Union described the action as a violation of international law.
