Russian parliamentary elections in Putin’s favor; the European Union criticized a “retreat from democracy”

Russian parliamentary elections in Putin’s favor; the European Union criticized a “retreat from democracy”

🔸Russian Federation officials in Moscow announced the results of the parliamentary elections—results that showed a new record in strengthening the position of the “United Russia” party, controlled by the Kremlin. This comes as the European Union called the Sunday, September 29, elections “fictitious.”

🔸According to the Central Election Commission, “United Russia,” in the first parliamentary elections held since Moscow’s start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, won nearly 58% of the vote and secured 355 seats out of the 450 seats in the Russian State Duma.

🔸In a tightly managed election held over three days from Friday to Sunday, voters could vote for candidates from several parties—all of which were approved by the Kremlin and fully backed Vladimir Putin.

🔸The “Yabloko” party, the only opposition party to the war in Ukraine, was barred from the election. Nikolai Rybakov, the leader of this party, attended a polling station in Saint Petersburg, wrote “For peace” in marker on his ballot, and held it up in front of himself and the cameras.

🔸Most figures of Russian opposition are either imprisoned or living in exile. Dmitry Gudkov, an exiled opposition figure, tells “Current Time,” the Russian-language TV network of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, “No one was allowed [among these opposition figures] to run for office. Election observers were expelled. It is clear that the ballots were widely manipulated.”

🔸Gudkov is a member of “Russian Democratic Forces,” an exiled group of opponents based in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). He said he believes the group will soon declare the Duma elections “invalid.”

🔸Kaja Kallas, the EU’s foreign policy chief, called the elections illegitimate, citing multiple cases, including holding elections in the occupied regions of Ukraine.

🔸On Monday, September 30, she wrote in a post on social media: “The so-called parliamentary elections in Russia have marked a tremendous setback for democracy in this country.”

🔸She added: “In Russia, only a thin coating of democracy remains. I have proposed that sanctions be considered against individuals who facilitated holding these sham elections in the occupied territories of Ukraine.”

🔸Ella Pamfilova, head of the election commission of the Russian Federation, described the participation of more than 59% of eligible voters as remarkable compared with previous periods.

🔸Read the full report on the Radio Farda website.