United Russia Wins State Duma Election

Russia’s ruling United Russia party won the State Duma election, which President Vladimir Putin has cast as a test of support for the war in Ukraine. The Central Election Commission announced the result on Monday after more than 95% of the votes had been counted.

According to the commission, United Russia received 57.83% of the vote, up from 49.8% in the previous State Duma election in 2021.

The result is expected to give United Russia 355 seats in the 450-member State Duma, allowing the party to retain its constitutional majority, the election commission said.

The election took place in a tightly controlled political environment in which most anti-war candidates were barred from running. Russia also did not invite observers from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), which said the decision was not in line with Moscow’s commitments as an OSCE participating state.

(Reuters, max)