Putin's United Russia eyes parliamentary election win

The Kremlin-backed United Russia party has secured victory in Russia's parliamentary election, taking 49.4 per cent of the vote, according to preliminary results reported by Russian news agencies.

The election was Russia's first parliamentary vote since President Vladimir Putin ordered the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and was widely seen as a test of public backing for the war.

Putin had called on Russians to use their vote to contribute to victory in Ukraine, while dozens of war veterans stood as candidates for United Russia.

The vote has been dismissed by democracy watchdogs, foreign governments and Kremlin opponents as neither free nor fair, with critics accusing the authorities of excluding genuine opposition and tightly controlling the political landscape.

The anti-war Yabloko party was barred from the election while all parties represented in the outgoing parliament are considered loyal to the Kremlin and support Russia's war against Ukraine.

The Communist Party was on 14.2 per cent, followed by the ultranationalist LDPR on 10.7 per cent and New People on 9.7 per cent, according to the initial results.

A Just Russia was on 6.6 per cent, putting all four parties on course to return to the State Duma.

United Russia, which has dominated Russian politics for more than two decades, entered the election facing significant economic pressures, signs of war fatigue and broader public dissatisfaction.

Official figures put turnout at more than 56 per cent, higher than in the 2021 parliamentary election.

Figures provided by Russia's electoral authorities cannot be independently verified.

Yabloko, which was initially approved to stand before being removed from the ballot, and the traditionally strong Communist Party both complained that hundreds of their observers had been prevented from monitoring polling stations.

Having urged supporters to spoil party-list ballots, Yabloko party leader Nikolai Rybakov cast a ballot in St Petersburg on Sunday covered in bright green writing declaring "For freedom," "For peace" and "Yabloko".

Civil servants also reported being pressured to vote while there were allegations of ballot stuffing, as in previous Russian elections.

Some voters complained that they had not received polling cards and had been registered for online voting without their knowledge.