Russia‘s ruling party that is loyal to Vladimir Putin is set for a landslide victory in the latest parliamentary elections, early vote counting indicates.
The United Russia party looks set to take home around 58 percent of the vote, with their closest rival the Communist Party on track for just 14 percent.
The result of the election – with a turnout of 56 percent – was never truly in doubt, because the Kremlin exerts tight control over the voting process.
In the absence of a credible opposition, the question was not whether Putin’s favoured party would win, but by how much.
Putin is not a member of United Russia, but he served as its leader between 2008 and 2012.
These elections were for the state Duma – Russia’s parliament – rather than for the president’s seat, so Putin was not on the ballot card.
Polls closed on Sunday after three days of voting.
The weekend also brought Ukraine’s largest attack on Moscow since the outbreak of the war, which officials branded an attempt to sabotage the election.
Plumes of smoke rise from fires at an oil refinery on Sunday after what the Russians says was Ukraine’s largest attack on Moscow
Smoke blankets Moscow as fires rage at the capital’s oil refinery
The ruling party loyal to Vladimir Putin looks set for a landslide victory
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said Russia had downed more than 1,600 drones since Saturday night, including 450 that were headed for Moscow.
But some did hit their mark, with explosions at the Moscow Oil Refinery, and one impact on an apartment block.
Sobyanin said: ‘The unprecedented attack was clearly planned with the aim of disrupting the elections. The adversary failed to achieve this.’
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