Duma sham elections in Russia: Vladimir Putin secures victory

Everything is according to plan: As expected, the Kremlin party United Russia emerged as the winner of the Russian Duma elections from September 18th to 20th, the first since the beginning of Russia's all-out war of aggression against Ukraine. According to the Central Election Commission, the party got 57.83 percent after counting 95.18 ballot papers.

In addition, three other parties, all on Kremlin lines, will be represented in parliament: the Communist Party (KPRF) received 13.81 percent, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDPR) 8.98 percent and the “New People” party 7.96 percent of the vote. United Russia is also ahead when it comes to direct mandates (half of the total 450 seats) with 208 representatives.

Together with the list votes, this results in a total of 355 mandates, a whopping “constitutional majority”. The state news agency Tass came up with this “positive news” after half of the votes had been counted. According to official information, voter turnout was 59.32 percent, higher than in 2021 (51.72 percent).

The “accompanying music” to the ballot was also somewhat unusual. There were several crashes in Moscow and the surrounding area on Sunday night. At least two people died in one of the most violent Ukrainian drone attacks in the capital region. However, President Vladimir Putin did not want to postpone the parliamentary elections despite the ongoing war against Ukraine. Anyone who decided to vote could hardly ignore the context in which it took place.

The victory of the United Russia party was already certain in advance, despite ongoing Ukrainian drone attacks, a veritable gasoline crisis and a steadily deteriorating economic situation. Because other scenarios are unthinkable in Putin's Russia. The exiled journalist and ex-parliamentary reporter Farida Rustamova spoke of what was probably the “most uneventful, boring and unrivaled Duma election campaign in the modern history of Russia”.

But the results presented follow a certain logic. In Putin's power system, elections serve to legitimize himself. No matter what the world situation looks like, in the end the winner has to shine or even outdo himself. In March 2024, Putin won 87 percent of the vote in the presidential election.

Perhaps the only surprise was the result of the Fair Russia party. She didn't even manage to overcome the five percent hurdle. This is remarkable because the party, which was founded in the noughties as an additional pillar of the Kremlin, is completely in line. Apparently it is superfluous in times when political content is no longer even allowed to be debated openly. United Russia benefited from this.

This became even clearer in the treatment of the liberal Yabloko party. With her blatant anti-war program and her slogan “For Peace and Freedom,” Jabloko would definitely have had a chance of gaining popularity. But by decision of the Supreme Court in August, the party's initially approved list was excluded from taking part in the election. In the end, there were only 99 candidates left in the running for a direct mandate in 43 regions.

Jabloko is only expected to enter the parliamentary representation of the Novgorod region with a result of 6.2 percent. “Peace, freedom and a life without fear – these are values ​​that have found resonance in the hearts and souls of the people,” said a statement from the Novgorod party association.

The vote also took place in the Ukrainian territories annexed by Russia in violation of international law. According to official information, 75 percent of voters (more than 1 million people) in the Donetsk region had cast their votes early by Friday.

Particularly impressive were the photos in which voters cast their votes "on tree stumps" - in the presence of military personnel who wore balaclavas and held combat weapons in their hands, said Ksenia Smolyakova from the independent project "Atlas of Elections" to the BBC's Russian-language service.

The official results have little in common with the real preferences of those eligible to vote. Now we can eagerly await how the Kremlin implements the majority it achieved through election manipulation at all levels.