Putin’s United Russia Wins Tightly Controlled Election

MOSCOW, Sept 21 (Bernama-dpa) -- The Kremlin-backed United Russia party has secured victory in Russia’s tightly controlled parliamentary election, taking 49.4 per cent of the vote, according to preliminary results carried by Russian news agencies, German Press Agency (dpa) reported.

The Communist Party was on 14.2 per cent, followed by the ultranationalist LDPR on 10.7 per cent and the relatively new New People party on 9.7 per cent, according to the initial figures.

The Just Russia party was on 6.6 per cent, putting all four parties on course to return to the State Duma.

All the parties represented in the outgoing parliament are considered loyal to the Kremlin and support Russia’s war against Ukraine.

The anti-war Yabloko party was excluded from the election, which was held over three days.

The election is seen by the Kremlin as an important test of public backing for President Vladimir Putin’s continued war against Ukraine.

Dozens of veterans of Russia’s war in Ukraine stood as candidates for United Russia.

United Russia, which has dominated Russian politics for more than two decades, entered the election facing significant economic pressures, signs of war fatigue and broader public dissatisfaction.

-- BERNAMA-dpa