United Russia Party wins Duma election

World Today

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It was a result that came as no surprise- the ruling United Russia party, backed by Vladimir Putin, won the parliamentary election with more than 54 percent of the votes.

The turnout was less than 48 percent for the whole country and numerous violations were reported during the vote.

CCTV’s Julia Lyubova reports from Moscow.
Follow Julia Lyubova on Twitter @julialyubova

Now, United Russia gets a constitutional majority in the State Duma, becoming even more dominant than before and ensuring more support for Putin than ever.

Fourteen parties took part in the election. Only two of them openly opposed Vladimir Putin. However, these parties failed to get over the 5 percent threshold, a requirement for the State Duma. They said that in the run-up to the election they were denied air time on national television and were defamed in reports on state TV.

The election was seen as a test for Vladimir Putin’s expected presidential campaign in 2018. The results show that the Russian president has a firm grip on power in the country. However, the turnout, less than 48 percent, was at a record low, as many Russians feel their vote will not change anything.