Russia reveals early results of parliamentary elections
Photo: Russia begins summing up the "elections" (Getty Images)
The ruling party United Russia is leading in the "elections" to the Russian State Duma - a result that can hardly be called surprising given the lack of real political competition in the country, according to data from the Russian Central Election Commission (CEC).
After processing about 14% of the protocols, United Russia is receiving about 57% of the votes. It is followed by the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) (about 14%), the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) (9%), New People (8%), and A Just Russia (5.16%).
All these parties, despite formal differences in names, have demonstrated complete loyalty to the Kremlin for years and do not constitute any real opposition to Putin's regime.
According to data from the so-called remote electronic voting (REV), which is considered one of the least transparent and most manipulated tools in Russia, United Russia is receiving 49.06%, New People 15.42%, and the CPRF 12.26%. REV results do not include the Kaliningrad region.
In parallel, Russia was electing heads of eight regions - Mordovia, Tuva, Chechnya, as well as Belgorod, Bryansk, Penza, Tver, and Ulyanovsk regions. According to CEC data, incumbent heads or acting governors are leading in seven regions - that is, the same individuals who previously led these territories.
In Chechnya, according to CEC data, after processing 2.4% of the ballots, Ramzan Kadyrov is leading with 97.35% of the votes.
The elections in Russia started on September 18; right from the start, instances of pressure on observers, coercion of public sector employees, and mass falsifications were recorded.
Verkhovna Rada Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets previously stated that Russia is preparing illegal elections to the State Duma in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine to create an appearance of normal life; he urged Ukrainians not to participate in the voting.
The Security Service of Ukraine also called on Ukrainians in occupied territories not to participate in these illegal elections.
