Putin maintains grip on Russia as party leads wartime parliamentary elections | World News

Russia’s ruling United Russia party has been leading the country’s first parliamentary election since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. President Vladimir Putin is set to retain his political dominance after the three-day vote saw little opposition, initial figures released Monday by the Central Election Commission show.Turnout stood at 56.66% when polling closed on Sunday, the election commission said. Over 111 million Russians were eligible to vote.With about 58% of precincts counted, United Russia had nearly 58% of the party-list vote and was leading in most single-seat races, putting it on course to retain its majority in the 450-seat State Duma.The election was held from Friday to Sunday and included remote electronic voting. It also covered Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories, including parts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, as well as Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014. Ukraine rejects Russia’s claims over the territories. ALSO READ | 2 killed after Ukraine hits refinery in Moscow; Russia alleges election interferenceUnited Russia set to retain controlThe Kremlin was widely expected to retain control of the State Duma. United Russia has dominated parliament since Putin came to power and won 324 of 450 seats in 2021.Putin has linked the party to support for his policies, including the war in Ukraine. Four other established parties -- the Communist Party, Liberal Democratic Party, A Just Russia and New People -- were also expected to retain seats and generally support the Kremlin on major issues.The liberal Yabloko party, which opposed the war, was removed from the nationwide ballot by Russia’s Supreme Court in August. Several anti-war politicians were also jailed, barred from standing or forced to leave the country.Election held amid major Ukrainian drone attacksThe final day of voting saw a major wave of Ukrainian drone attacks on Russia. Russia’s defence ministry said its forces intercepted 1,110 Ukrainian drones across Russia, Crimea and the Black Sea. Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin put that number at 1,600.The attacks came after months of Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries and other infrastructure.Electronic voting draws scrutiny in MoscowMoscow’s electronic voting system was targeted by cyberattacks, election commission chief Ella Pamfilova said. Independent outlet SotaVision reported glitches at polling stations, with some voters unable to get paper ballots and directed to electronic terminals instead.Opposition figure Leonid Volkov questioned whether the problems were deliberate and asked voters to demand paper ballots.“This is, of course, no ‘glitch’ at all, but a fully conscious scam. Someone will get tired of waiting and leave. Someone will vote 'electronically.' But in the end, with a certain persistence, everyone manages to vote with a paper ballot. These kinds of 'elections' – the chance to vote has to be fought for tooth and nail,” he wrote on X. Russian authorities maintained that the electoral system continued to function despite cyberattacks.Opposition parties report voting violationsOpposition parties reported alleged voting irregularities, including observers being denied access and voters being refused paper ballots.Yabloko and the Communist Party said some of their observers were denied access to polling stations, AP reported. Russia did not invite OSCE election observers. Moscow cited “double standards”, while OSCE officials said the decision breached Russia’s commitments.