Russian voters will begin voting early Friday to elect the 450 members of the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, in a three-day election that also includes regional and local contests across the country, foreign agency reports.
The Sept. 18-20 vote will determine the ninth convocation of the State Duma, with parliamentary elections being held for the first time since the beginning of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022.
The elections are being held as part of Russia’s Single Voting Day, with voters in eight regions choosing governors or heads of regions, while parliamentary elections are taking place in 39 regions.
Local council elections are also scheduled in the administrative centers of 10 regions.
111 million eligible voters
According to the Russian Central Election Commission, about 111 million people, including approximately 1.8 million registered voters abroad, are eligible to vote in the parliamentary election.
Voting will take place at polling stations as well as through Russia’s remote electronic voting system.
Polls will open at 8 am local time on Friday, working 12 hours every day until they close at 8 pm on Sept. 20. Russia has 11 different time zones, so in different regions the local time will vary from GMT +2 to GMT +12.
There is no minimum turnout requirement for the election to be considered valid.
The election is expected to be monitored by foreign observers from around 55 countries, including representatives of the Commonwealth of Independent States, Shanghai Cooperation Organization, BRICS, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, as well as countries from Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America.
Russia has not invited the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to observe the three-day vote.
11 parties seeking to capture Duma seats
Eleven political parties are taking part in the State Duma election.
The ballot includes the ruling United Russia party and the four parties currently represented in the Duma — the Communist Party, Liberal Democratic Party, A Just Russia — For Truth, and New People.
Five parties without parliamentary representation are also taking part – Rodina, Pensioners for Social Justice, Greens, Communists of Russia, Direct Democracy, and Yabloko.
The liberal Yabloko party was excluded from the ballot for the State Duma election under the party list system, while candidates nominated by the party in single-member constituencies are taking part in the vote.
The Duma has 450 seats. Half of them are filled through party lists, while the remaining 225 are contested in single-member constituencies.
Parties must receive at least 5% of the party list vote to qualify for seats under the proportional system.
Candidates in single-member districts may be nominated by parties or run independently after collecting the required number of voter signatures.
Vote during continued conflict
The parliamentary vote is taking place while the Russia-Ukraine conflict continues to shape the country’s political and security agenda.
Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian regions have brought security issues into the election campaign, while support for the Russian military has featured prominently in the political messaging of the parties in the race.
Voting is also being organized in Russian-controlled parts of Ukraine, a move that Ukraine and many Western governments reject as unlawful.
The election will determine the composition of the State Duma for the next five-year term.
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