Russia announces parliamentary election turnout reached 59.8 percent; Putin calls new Duma to hold first session on Wednesday

The Russian Central Election Commission announced that more than 67.4 million voters cast their ballots in the elections for the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament, held from September 18 to 20, with a turnout of 59.8 percent.

Elvira Nabiullina, chair of the Central Election Commission, stated during a meeting to announce the overall results of the parliamentary elections that the United Russia party secured the top position with 349 seats in the Duma. The Communist Party of the Russian Federation won 37 seats, and the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia obtained 23 seats.

She added that the New People party won 19 seats, the A Just Russia – For Truth party secured 17 seats, and the Rodina party won one seat, alongside four independent candidates. She noted that the election results led to the renewal of approximately half of the members of the chamber.

The commission observed around 28 million attempts to influence the resources of the Central Election Commission during the campaign period. It also reported that 75 buildings belonging to electoral commissions in 11 Russian regions were damaged as a result of the war with Ukraine.

In a related development, the Russian presidency (the Kremlin) announced that President Vladimir Putin signed a decree calling for the first session of the Duma to convene on September 30.

The Russian parliamentary elections take place amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, with Moscow and Kyiv continuing to exchange accusations over attacks on civilian infrastructure and facilities during the conflict.