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Ella Pamfilova, Chairwoman of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation, is seen during the announcement of preliminary election results at the commission's information center on the 21st local time. / TASS-Yonhap

Russia's ruling United Russia party won a landslide victory in the State Duma (lower house) election held over three days starting on the 18th local time.

According to Reuters on the 21st, United Russia is projected to secure 355 seats, well past the constitutional threshold.

Ella Pamfilova, Chairwoman of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation, announced on the day that United Russia garnered 57.83% of the vote with more than 95% of ballots counted. This surpasses the 49.8% vote share it achieved in the 2021 election.

The election commission noted that voter turnout reached 59.3% among 111 million eligible voters, marking a record high for a general election.

Combining constituency returns, United Russia is expected to take 355 out of 450 total seats, accounting for nearly 80%. This breaks its previous record of 343 seats in 2016 and represents a commanding margin that enables unilateral constitutional amendments.

Four parties cleared the 5% threshold required for parliamentary representation: the Communist Party (13.81%), the far-right nationalist Liberal Democratic Party (8.98%), the liberal New People (7.96%), and the center-left A Just Russia (5%).

Yabloko, the only legally registered anti-war party in Russia, failed to win a single seat in the national parliament. In regional assembly elections in Novgorod Oblast, northwest of Moscow, however, it garnered around 6%, clearing the entry barrier.

Yabloko said in a statement that the results confirmed voter support for peace and fundamental values.

Russian President Vladimir Putin framed the election, the first since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, as a test of support for the war effort. Government officials, including the president, described the vote as an opportunity to demonstrate national unity to adversaries.

Critics pointed out that there were no surprises given that many Yabloko candidates were barred from running under tight political controls. However, Pamfilova characterized the vote as a clean election, despite widespread fraud allegations raised by exiled opposition figures.

Political analysts evaluated that showing the electoral process proceeding relatively smoothly was a key objective for the Russian government.

                                                                                                           Lee Jeong-eun