Vladimir Putin-led United Russia won the parliament election in the country on Monday, AFP reported. Voters cast their ballot for 450 seats in the country’s State Duma, which will hold power in the country for five years. The ruling party had an easy victory, winning more than 53% of the total vote. After 60% of votes were counted, opposition parties the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia and the Left had only 13.9% and 13.7% of the vote.
President Putin’s approval ratings have remained high, and the results could lead to him winning a fourth term in 2018. He has been in power, either as president or prime minister, for 17 years, though he is not a formal member of United Russia. Exit polls had also showed a clear victory for Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and United Russia, BBC reported.
The 2011 election was marred by reports of vote-rigging. Russian Election Commission chief Ella Pamfilova had promised to clean up the system earlier this year. Following the election, she had said there was no reason to nullify the vote in any region. However, she admitted the election was “not sterile”, AP reported.
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