Voting for the State Duma has ended in Russia: "United Russia receives 52.8% according to exit polls

The three-day voting for the State Duma elections and the accompanying regional and local elections has ended in Russia. The voting was held on September 18, 19 and 20, and for the first time since the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine, the country is electing a new composition of the lower house of parliament.

According to preliminary data, the voter turnout has reached 56.66%. Earlier on the last day, the Central Election Commission reported a turnout of just over 55% as of 18:05 Moscow time.

„United Russia“ with 52.8% according to exit poll

According to the INSOMAR exit poll, the ruling party „United Russia“ receives 52.8% of the votes in the party vote for the State Duma.

Exit polls indicate that a total of five parties pass the required threshold for representation in parliament. However, the final distribution of seats will depend on the official counting of ballots and the results in single-member districts.

Elections for the 450-seat State Duma are held under a mixed system - half of the deputies are elected on party lists, and the remaining 225 seats are in single-member districts.

Voting ends in three days

Voting began on September 18 and ended on September 20. Along with traditional voting, remote electronic voting was also used.

Over 111 million voters were eligible to participate in the elections. In parallel with the parliamentary elections were held for governors, regional parliaments and local government bodies in different parts of the country

Russia awaits the reaction of the West

The Chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs Pyotr Tolstoy said that Moscow is not interested in whether Western countries will recognize the results of the parliamentary elections.

According to him, Russia will determine the legitimacy of the electoral process based on its own procedures and legislation.

The international reaction to the elections is already critical. The European Union said that the holding of Russian elections in the occupied Ukrainian territories is a violation of international law.

Lavrov expects criticism from the EU

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the European Union is preparing a position according to which the elections in Russia did not meet European standards.

Lavrov accused Western countries of attempts to interfere in the Russian electoral process before the elections. He said that Moscow is observing “direct interference“ by the West and actions aimed at influencing the will of Russian citizens. This is the position of the Russian Foreign ministry.

First results are coming

The final results will be announced after the votes are counted. Exit polls provide a preliminary picture and are not equivalent to official results.

The elections were held under increased security control and against the backdrop of reports of cyberattacks on the electronic voting system. Russian authorities said that despite technical problems and attacks, the election process continued.

In parallel, Russian authorities announced for large-scale drone attacks on Moscow and other regions on the last day of voting. The Russian side said the attacks were aimed at disrupting the electoral process, while Kiev has not publicly claimed responsibility for all reported strikes

Sources: Interfax, Russia's Central Election Commission, INSOMAR, Russia's Foreign Ministry