Putin’s party wins supermajority in Russia’s parliamentary election

What Happened

Russia’s Central Electoral Commission announced on Monday that President Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party won a record supermajority in parliamentary elections held over three days ending Sunday, with more than 58 percent of votes and on track for more than three-quarters of State Duma seats. The polls were the first parliamentary vote since Russian forces invaded Ukraine in 2022 and the first to include residents of four Ukrainian regions that were seized and illegally annexed by Moscow later that year. Turnout was almost 60 percent. The Communist Party took 13.8 percent and 40 Duma seats; the nationalist LDPR won 25 seats and New People 20. Yabloko, the only registered anti-war party in Russia, was removed from the national ballot by Russia’s Supreme Court last month and won no national seats, but entered the Novgorod regional parliament with about 12,000 votes, just over 6 percent. Yabloko and the Communist Party said many of their observers were turned away from polling stations.

Key Actors

Why It Matters

The supermajority consolidates Putin’s legislative control at a time when demand for ending the war is growing, according to Tatyana Stanovaya of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, enabling the Kremlin to pass laws on mobilization, repression, or escalation with little parliamentary resistance. Al Jazeera’s Dmitry Medvedenko reported that Moscow is likely to see the result as public support for the war; Stanovaya said Putin will interpret it as confirmation of war support even though the overall demand for ending the war is growing. The inclusion of four annexed Ukrainian regions in the vote and Western condemnation highlight the contested legitimacy of the poll, with the EU and five countries including Australia, Britain and Canada branding it a sham and part of occupation.

Watch For

Monitor the new State Duma for legislation enabling further mobilization, new repressive measures, or escalation in Ukraine, as flagged by Stanovaya. Watch for whether the Kremlin cites the supermajority to justify war continuation, and for responses from Ukraine’s allies and international bodies such as the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, which has already criticised Russia’s exclusion of observers. Yabloko’s entry into the Novgorod regional parliament may be a limited test of anti-war political space at the regional level.