President Vladimir Putin`s United Russia party has established an overwhelming lead in the country`s first parliamentary elections conducted since Moscow began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The three-day ballot for the lower chamber of parliament, the State Duma, closed on Sunday evening across the vast federation. Data released by the Central Election Commission on Monday morning indicated that the ruling bloc commanded 57.86 percent of the vote with 90.43 percent of ballots tabulated.
The outcome followed widespread forecasts.
Overall turnout was recorded at just under 57 percent at the conclusion of voting on Sunday, the election commission noted. The 450-seat State Duma divides its mandates equally, with 225 seats decided by national party lists and the remaining half contested in single-member territorial constituencies where Kremlin-aligned figures dominated. Russia`s Ministry of Digital Development stated that more than 3.6 million citizens utilized online voting mechanisms. This included ballots collected in the annexed Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhia, alongside Crimea, an exercise condemned as illegitimate under international law by the United Nations and Western capitals.
Other permitted systemic parties trailed behind the ruling juggernaut while maintaining their statutory legislative thresholds. The Communist Party stood at 13.84 percent, the ultranationalist Liberal Democratic Party recorded 8.9 percent, New People registered 7.94 percent, and A Just Russia tallied 4.95 percent. Analysts noted that some voters used the secondary parties to register passive frustration over inflation and prolonged military mobilization without directly confronting executive power.
Explicit antiwar figures were excluded from registration prior to the ballot. With several prominent leaders of the liberal Yabloko party serving prison terms for criticizing the conflict, remaining party members faced steep risks. In a symbolic act of defiance at a polling station, Yabloko chairman Nikolai Rybakov invalidated his ballot paper by writing "For peace" across the slate. Electoral authorities stated that while preliminary distributions will continue throughout the week, legal certification of the final outcome will not conclude before Friday.
