Vladimir Putin’s party wins in legislative assemblies with more than 40 percent

The ruling party United Russia in the lead this Sunday the legislative elections, according to the first results announced a few minutes after the closing of the last polling stations of a poll which practically excluded the opposition against the Kremlin.

According to the Central Election Commission (CEC), United Russia totals 44.92% votes after the ballot of 28% of the votes. The Communists are said to be the second most voted party with nearly 22%.

This results would guarantee the absolute majority to the presidential party, since, in addition to being at the top of the list, their candidates would win in more than half of the 225 majority constituencies.

In turn, experts predicted that with 45% of the vote and a victory in 190 constituencies, United Russia renew the constitutional majority, that is, more than 300 of the 450 seats in the lower house.

LDRP nationalists (9.4%) third, followed by the newly created formation “New People” and the Centrists of Just Russia (6.67%).

According to an exit poll conducted for the state broadcaster Rossiya-24, United Russia will win with 45.2% of the vote, clearly ahead of the Communists (21%).

In the previous 2016 legislature, United Russia prevailed with 52.4% of votes and the Communists come in second with 13.3%.

Authorities prevented many candidates of the opposition that will run in this year’s elections.

Supporters of the jailed opponent Alexei Navalni they demanded to make “an intelligent vote” and to bet on the candidates best placed to prevent the election of the representatives of the party of Putin.

The elections follow months of harsh crackdown on the opposition, which began with Navalni’s arrest in January.

Three days

During these elections, held from Friday to Sunday, most of the 450 seats are shared of the Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament.

About 108 million Russians were able to participate in these elections, in which many opposition candidates were unable to stand.

Supporters of imprisoned opponent Alexéi Navalni urged to “a smart vote” and bet on the candidates best placed to prevent the election of representatives of Putin’s party. In most cases, they were Communists.

According to a leader close to Navalni, the best known opponent of Putin, the result of the Communists, if confirmed, is a success.

“The goal of smart voting was to break the monopoly of United Russia and that’s what happened, ”Liubov Sobol said on the Navalny Live YouTube channel.

The vote came after an intense crackdown on the opposition, including the imprisonment of Navalni, whose organization was banned as “extremist”.

Prior to the vote, Navalni’s main allies were either arrested or fled the country, and anyone associated with his group was not allowed to run in parliamentary elections.

“It’s an election simulation and it’s something sad” said Andrei, a 33-year-old computer scientist, a voter in Moscow.

Turnout exceeded 45% by 6:00 p.m. (3:00 p.m. GMT).

Fraud and censorship

In addition to eliminating opposition from the ballots, these elections were also marred by censorship and fraud complaints.

As of Sunday, independent election observer Golos had received more than 3,850 complaints about possible election irregularities. Authorities called Golos a “foreign agent”.

In contrast, when voting began on Friday, the Apple and Google companies removed Navalni’s “smart voting” app, which informed its followers about which candidates to support to defeat the candidates aligned with the Kremlin.

Sources close to Google and Apple’s decision told AFP that they did so under pressure from the Russian authorities, who threatened to arrest local staff from the tech giants.

The Telegram messaging app also removed Navalni’s app on Friday.

Navalni relatives accuse Google and Apple to “give in to the blackmail of the Kremlin”.

Google also blocked access to other content with these election slogans Sunday morning: two videos posted on YouTube – owned by Google – and two lists published in Google Docs.

The Navalni team responded by posting a similar video on Youtube and copies of lists in Google Docs. On Twitter, he gave instructions to download a virtual private network (VPN) to avoid blockages.

On Sunday, the jailed opponent again asked his compatriots to vote according to his slogans.

“Today your vote really matters”, posted on social networks. “Vote and convince others to do so. Please don’t be lazy.”

Before the election to the Duma, United Russia had historically weak support.

Recent polls by VTsIOM, a state body, found that less than 30% of Russians plan to vote for the party, 10% less than in the weeks leading up to the 2016 parliamentary elections.

Although Putin, 68, continues to have a good level of popularity, United Russia has lost its support in the face of deteriorating living conditions after years of economic stagnation.

Thirteen other parties participate in the elections, although in general they are seen as false opposition and in the service of the Kremlin.

Source: AFP and EFE

PB