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The United Russia party is set to win the ballot box after allies of Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny were barred from running in June.
The Russians voted in the home stretch of a three-day parliamentary election which the ruling party is expected to win after a sweeping crackdown that crushed the movement of Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny and barred opponents from voting.
The expected victory of the United Russia party in Sunday’s polls will be used by the Kremlin as proof of support for President Vladimir Putin despite the unease caused by years of declining living standards.
The party that backs the 68-year-old Russian leader is facing a drop in audiences, state polls show, but remains more popular than its closest rivals at the polls – the Communist Party and the nationalist LDPR party – who support often the Kremlin.
United Russia holds nearly three-quarters of the 450 seats in the State Duma. That dominance last year helped the Kremlin pass constitutional reforms that allow Putin to run for two more terms for president after 2024, potentially remaining in power until 2036.
“If United Russia succeeds [to win], our country can expect another five years of poverty, five years of repression, five years lost, ”sent a message to supporters on Navalny’s blog this week.
Navalny’s allies were barred from running after his move was banned in june as “extremist”. Other opposition figures say they have been targeted by dirty tricks or have not been allowed to compete.
Communist strawberry mogul said he was unfairly banned, while liberal opposition politician in St. Petersburg said two “spoiler” candidates of the same name were running against him to confuse him among his constituents.
Moscow denies the allegations
The Kremlin denies political repression and says individuals are being prosecuted for breaking the law. She and United Russia deny any role in the candidate registration process.
Navalny’s camp is promoting a tactical voting ploy against United Russia that authorities want to block online. Since the start of the vote on Friday, Google, Apple and Telegram Messenger have limited some access to the campaign on their platforms. Activists accuse them of giving in to pressure.
The elections take place until 6:00 p.m. GMT on Sunday, when polling stations in the European enclave of Kaliningrad close. This is the last national ballot before the 2024 presidential election. Putin, who turns 69 next month, has not said whether he will run.
In Moscow, Navalny’s tactical voting campaign recommended that supporters vote for politicians such as the Communist Party’s Mikhail Lobanov. He said he praised Navalny’s campaign and criticized United Russia.
“People see the glaring inequalities, they feel the effects of economic policy and the wave of repression and react with dissatisfaction as a result,” Lobanov said.
A member of the local electoral committee checks a ballot box at a polling station [Reuters]“Language of force”
At a polling station in Lobanov, three people said they voted for United Russia and three said they voted Communist, including two at the request of Navalny’s team.
A retiree from Moscow who only gave his name as Anatoly said he voted United Russia because he was proud of Russia’s tough foreign policy and Putin’s efforts to restore what he sees as Russia’s legitimate great power status.
“Countries like the United States and Great Britain respect us more or less now as they respected the Soviet Union in the 1960s and 1970s… The Anglo-Saxons only understand the language of force,” he said. -he declares.
Other voters expressed their anger at United Russia at a polling station in the capital of more than 12.5 million people, where the party has fared less well in recent years than in some areas.
“I am still against United Russia. They did nothing good, ”declared Roman Malakhov, who voted Communist.
Voting takes place in parallel with the elections of regional governors and local legislative assemblies. It is spread over three days as a COVID-19 precautionary measure.
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