Putin’s party wins supermajority in Russia’s parliamentary election

President Vladimir Putin's United Russia party has won a record supermajority in tightly orchestrated parliamentary polls that excluded virtually any genuine opposition, near complete official results show.

Key points

• The Communists created it into parliament with 13.8 percent of the vote, securing 40 Duma seats.
• Ella Pamfilova, chair of the Central Electoral Commission, remarked Yabloko, the only registered anti-war party in Russia, did not win any seats at the national level.
• Russia did not invite observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
• With over 58 percent of votes secured, United Russia.
• Asked what she would like to change, she remarked: Well, I guess everyone knows the most acute thing – the conflict in Ukraine.

With over 58 percent of votes secured, United Russia. It has dominated Russian politics for 25 years, is on track to win more than three quarters of the seats in the lower house, the State Duma, according to the results confirmed on Monday after three days of voting that concluded on Sunday.

Notably, the polls were the first parliamentary vote since Russian forces invaded Ukraine in 2022 and the first to include residents of four Ukrainian regions that were seized and illegally annexed by Moscow afterwards that year.

Reporting from Moscow, Al Jazeera's Dmitry Medvedenko remarked the results, along with a high voter turnout of almost 60 percent, "is likely to be seen by Moscow as emboldening, as public support for what it is doing, especially for what it's doing in Ukraine for the continuation of the war".

Ella Pamfilova, chair of the Central Electoral Commission, remarked Yabloko, the only registered anti-war party in Russia, did not win any seats at the national level. It had been removed from the ballot last month by Russia's Supreme Court and only had a few dozen candidates in single-seat races.

Yabloko did enter the regional parliament in western Russia's Novgorod region. It remarked on social media that it received concerning 12, 000 votes – just over six percent of votes and enough to enter the regional legislature.

Yabloko and the Communist Party. It has criticised some aspects of administration policy but carefully avoided any criticism of Putin, stated plenty of of their observers were turned away from polling stations.

Notably, the Communists created it into parliament with 13.8 percent of the vote, securing 40 Duma seats. The nationalist LDPR party won 25 seats and the New Individuals party 20.

Russia did not invite observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). It the Foreign Ministry has accused of "double standards" for its criticism of the country. OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Pere Joan Pons remarked the decision to exclude observers violated Russia's commitments as a member. Plenty of Russians appeared unsurprised by the poll results.

"In the morning, I saw that ⁠⁠United Russia was winning. It probably comes as a surprise to nobody, " remarked Moscow resident Tatyana.

Asked what she would like to change, she remarked: "Well, I guess everyone knows the most acute thing – the conflict in Ukraine. I'd like to see it end sooner, with peaceful methods if feasible".

For context, the continuation of the war risks entrenching policies. It are increasingly affecting average Russians and the parliamentary supermajority may struggle to change the dynamic.

"Putin, of course, will interpret United Russia's results as confirmation of the (public) support of the war, even though it is not the case: The overall demand for ending the war is growing, " remarked Tatyana Stanovaya of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center in an online commentary.

"The main question is: What now? There are great reservations concerning mobilisation, new repressions, harsher measures and escalation, " she wrote. The EU's top diplomat Kaja Kallas dismissed Russia's "so-called" election.

"The Kremlin silenced dissent, barred the only registered party that resisted its war in Ukraine and shut out international election monitors. The veneer of democracy is all that remains in Russia, " Kallas remarked.

In a joint statement, five countries, including Australia, Britain and Canada, condemned Russia's "sham" parliamentary elections in areas of occupied Ukraine, branding them "part of a wider system of occupation".

Taken together, the developments around putin's party wins supermajority in Russia's parliamentary election point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.