Russia voted today, September 19, on the second day of a three-day parliamentary election that will determine the new composition of the 450-seat State Duma. The vote, which began on Friday and ends on Sunday, is the first for the lower house of the Russian parliament since the start of a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
As of 2:00 p.m. Moscow time, voter turnout in the country had reached 32.58%, according to data from the Russian Central Election Commission (CEC), cited by Reuters.
The voting is being held in 11 time zones and is accompanied by regional and local elections. According to the Central Election Commission, over 2,200 election campaigns are being held in the country at various levels, within which about 20,700 deputy mandates and elected positions must be distributed. In addition to deputies to the State Duma, heads of 11 Russian regions are elected - in eight of them by direct vote, and in three through regional legislative bodies. Parliamentary elections are also being held in 39 regions.
Over 4.6 million people voted early
Chairwoman of the Central Election Commission Ella Pamfilova announced on Saturday that4,663,963 people took advantage of the opportunity to vote early.
Of these, 232,369 voted in hard-to-reach and remote areas, 31,258 - on ships that are far from the coast during the main vote, and 121 people - at polar stations.
A significant part of the votes are also cast electronically. As of 10:30 Moscow time, more than 3.03 million people had already voted via the federal remote electronic voting platform. The system is used in 32 regions.
Large-scale cyberattack on the system in Moscow
One of the main news stories on the second election day was related to the security of electronic voting.
Ella Pamfilova reported that the Moscow remote electronic voting system was subjected to a “very powerful” attack overnight. and a sustained cyberattack.
“The attack is ongoing practically constantly and is very large-scale and intense“, she said.
According to the CEC, the system continues to operate normally and there is no information that the attack has led to an interruption or compromise of the voting. These claims are from the Russian authorities and there is currently no independent confirmation of the origin or scale of the attack.
The Russian Ministry of Digital Development later reported deliberate damage to an optical communication line in the Far East. According to the department, communications in the Sakhalin and Magadan regions, the Kamchatka region and the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug were affected, but the connection has been restored.
“United Russia“ enters the vote as the dominant political force
The ruling party “United Russia“, which supports President Vladimir Putin, enters the election as the dominant force in the State Duma.
Half of the total 450 deputy seats are distributed through party lists, and the remaining 225 – in single-member constituencies.
Political competition, however, is severely limited. Reuters notes that most candidates with openly anti-war positions are not allowed to run in the elections.
The liberal party “Yabloko“, which calls for a ceasefire in Ukraine, was removed from participating with a party list after a Supreme Court ruling that it violated election rules - a claim the party denies. Some of its candidates are still running in single-member districts.
President Vladimir Putin presented the elections as a demonstration of public unity and support for Russian servicemen. However, independent observers and Western media have emphasized the restrictions placed on the opposition and the conditions under which political competition is conducted.
Voting also in occupied Ukrainian territories
One of the most controversial aspects of the elections is the voting organized by Moscow in parts of the Ukrainian Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Kherson regions, which Russia announced as annexed in 2022.
The annexation is not internationally recognized, and Russia does not fully control the four regions.
Moscow is organizing a parliamentary vote there for the first time since the annexations were announced.
Ukraine considers the organization of Russian elections in these territories illegal. The European Union also does not recognize Russia's annexation of the four Ukrainian regions.
A vote is also being held in Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014 - an action also not recognized by the international community.
The elections also sparked a dispute with Moldova
The vote also led to diplomatic tensions between Moscow and Chisinau.
Russia plans to open 15 polling stations in the separatist Moldovan region of Transnistria, where Moscow says about 220,000 Russian passport holders live.
The Moldovan government opposes the decision and insists that Russian citizens can only vote at the station at the Russian embassy in Chisinau.
Moldovan authorities have described the intention to open polling stations in Transnistria as “unacceptable and hostile” and summoned the Russian ambassador for explanations.
Moscow, for its part, claims that Russian citizens in the region have the right to participate in the elections.
Results are expected after the end of voting on Sunday
Polling stations will remain open on Sunday, September 20, when the three-day voting ends.
This means that Saturday's turnout data is interim and does not yet provide a definitive picture of voter turnout.
The first results are expected after the polls close on Sunday evening.
The 2026 parliamentary elections are of particular political importance for Russia, as they are the first vote for the State Duma since the start of the full-scale war against Ukraine. They are taking place in conditions of ongoing hostilities, economic pressure, and severely limited space for political opposition.