Putin's party celebrates victory in Russian parliamentary elections
Vladimir Putin's United Russia party has once again emerged as the strongest party in Russia's parliamentary elections, albeit with fewer votes than in previous elections. But allegations of fraud and manipulation have cast a shadow over the victory.
The ruling United Russia party has won the most votes in the first results of the parliamentary elections in Russia. With about half of the votes counted so far, the party has won 46.1 percent of the vote.
After United Russia, the Communist Party is the second party to enter the Russian Duma with 21.4 percent. The party's votes have grown significantly compared to the previous elections.
The Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) with 8 percent and the Just Russia party with 7.6 percent are the next parties to enter parliament. The new party New Man is also likely to enter the Duma. To enter parliament, a party must win at least 5 percent of the vote, and this party has so far managed to win 9.5 percent.
The three-day parliamentary elections in Russia ended on Sunday night, September 19, with the polls closing in Kaliningrad, the westernmost polling station in Russia.
Celebration of the victory of “United Russia”
With half of the votes counted, the United Russia party has emerged as the winner. Andrey Turchak, the party's general secretary, said his party deserved the victory: "Dear friends! I can congratulate you on an honest and clean victory. I also spoke with the leader of our party, Medvedev. He asked me to thank everyone, everyone who contributed to this victory, a victory that we achieved together."
Reports of “fraud” in the elections
As the ruling party celebrates its victory, the Golos Institute, an election monitoring body, has reported “fraud and manipulation” in the election. Most of these reports concern unsealed ballot boxes, pre-filled ballots, multiple voting, and the coercion of civil servants to vote.
"Citizens call us and report violations. In total, we have received about 400 reports that are classified as violations or crimes," the deputy director of the Golos Institute said in a final report Sunday night.
Alexei Navalny, a staunch Putin critic who was barred from running, has also spoken of “massive electoral fraud.” His spokesman wrote on Twitter that “it is impossible to come to terms with this.”
The Communist Party of Russia, the second-largest party in the election so far, has also claimed that ballot manipulation has led to a decline in its vote share. The party has benefited greatly from the current discontent among Russians, including due to falling incomes and rising prices.
"This time we experienced support that we haven't experienced since 1996," the Communist Party leader said immediately after the polls closed. "We must fight for our votes, then we can double and triple the results."
Source: DW
