Russia‘s ruling party that is loyal to Vladimir Putin is set for a landslide victory in the latest parliamentary elections, according to state-run exit polls.
The United Russia party is predicted to take home around half the vote, similar to its result in the previous elections of 2021.
The Communist Party is on track for second place with around 14 percent of the vote, followed by the LDPR on ten percent.
The turnout for the election was around 56 percent.
The result of the election was never truly in doubt, because the Kremlin exerts tight control over the voting process.
In the absence of a credible opposition, the question was not whether Putin’s party would win, but by how much.
Putin is not a member of United Russia, but he served as its leader between 2008 and 2012.
These elections were for the state Duma – Russia’s parliament – rather than for the president’s seat, so Putin was not on the ballot card.
Plumes of smoke rise from fires (right) at an oil refinery on Sunday after what the Russians says was Ukraine’s largest attack on Moscow
The ruling party loyal to Vladimir Putin looks set for a landslide victory
Polls closed on Sunday after three days of voting.
The weekend also brought Ukraine’s largest attack on Moscow since the outbreak of the war, in which two people were killed.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said Russia had downed more than 1,600 drones since Saturday night, including 450 that were headed for Moscow.
But some did hit their mark, with explosions at the Moscow Oil Refinery, and one impact on an apartment block, Sobyanin said.
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