Russia’s ruling United Russia party has secured a record 355 seats in the 450-member State Duma following the country’s latest parliamentary elections. With more than 95% of votes counted, the party won 57.83%, up from 49.8% in the 2021 election, maintaining its constitutional majority.
The election was the first parliamentary vote since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. President Vladimir Putin had presented the election as a test of national unity and support for the war.
Four other parties entered parliament, but Reuters reported that they have generally supported United Russia on major issues. The anti-war Yabloko party failed to win any national seats, although it appeared to gain a small foothold in the Novgorod regional parliament after passing the 5% threshold.
Official turnout was put at 59.3%, with authorities describing the election as clean despite opposition allegations of widespread irregularities.
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