Early election results show Russia’s ruling party has won Sunday’s parliamentary election, amid reports of election violations and visible voter apathy in the country’s two largest cities.
With nearly all votes counted, president Vladimir Putin’s united Russia party has more than 54 percent of the vote, with the liberal democrat party and the communists trailing with about 13 percent each, and a just Russia with 6 percent.
The chief of the Russian election commission, Ella Pamfilova, said in a televised briefing that she sees no reason to nullify results in any location in the country, despite reports of election fraud.
Pamfilova conceded, however, that the election “was not sterile,” adding that reports of ballot stuffing were confirmed in three polling stations.
As expected, the ruling United Russia Party will retain its absolute majority in Russia’s lower house, state duma.
United Russia, led by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, a loyalist of President Putin, currently has 238 of 450 duma seats and dominates the more than 80 regional parliaments.
The Party is likely to gain another 100 seats in the duma.
The election for lawmakers comes 18 months ahead of the next Presidential Election.
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