International
Putin's ruling party leads in Russian elections without opposition
Vladimir Putin's United Russia party leads the Russian parliamentary elections with 57.5 percent of the votes, according to results from approximately 14 percent of ballots counted. The Central Election Commission reported a voter turnout of over 56 percent during the voting period from Friday to Sunday. Exit polls by the state institute VCIOM had previously predicted a result of 49.4 percent for United Russia, similar to the 2021 election. The Communist Party and nationalist LDPR received 14.2 percent and 10.7 percent respectively. Experts describe the tightly controlled vote as a managed theater show lacking genuine opposition parties, noting that all participating groups maintain links to the Kremlin.
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