Half the seats in the State Duma are awarded by proportional representation, while the others are assigned by ‘first-past-the-post’ results in single member constituencies. United Russia, the ruling party, has officially received close to 50% of all votes cast, while sweeping the overwhelming majority of constituencies, with 99% of votes …
Read More »Putin’s party declares victory in Russian elections, insists it will retain two-thirds majority after polls show opposition gains
With 80% of the vote having been counted on Monday morning, Andrey Turchak, Secretary of the General Council of the United Russia party, said that his candidates were on track to win in races across the country. “Of course, results are still coming in, but as of early this morning, …
Read More »Make elections attractive again: Popular Russian Instagram influencer launches VOTING PAGEANT as country heads to polls (PHOTOS)
Blogger Alina Morozova came up with the election beauty pageant on Friday. Suggesting that the women of her region were “the most beautiful,” as well as “smart and cheerful,” she offered prizes for any female posters over 18 who helped show “how attractive an election in Krasnodar can be” by …
Read More »Russian elections: Communists set sights on major gains, but Western pundits are already dusting off their ‘rigged vote’ rhetoric
Russia’s constitution is sometimes described as “super-presidential.” It concentrates enormous powers in the hands of the head of state, including the right to appoint ministers, initiate legislation, and issue decrees. While the parliament does in theory have the right to remove the president, the impeachment process in practice makes this …
Read More »Russia’s elections are an all-important test for Putin’s party. But can opposition activists in the sunny south beat voter apathy?
However, not everyone in the fast-growing southern city seems to have gotten the message. “When does the election actually start?” Bogdan, a 21-year-old student asked. He hasn’t decided who he wants to cast his ballot for yet ‒ or if he’ll go to the polling station at all. “Life is …
Read More »‘Don’t interfere in our elections,’ Russian regulators tell US tech giants Apple & Google, in row over ‘foreign agent’ campaign
In a statement issued on Thursday evening, officials demanded that Apple and Google, as well as VPN service providers Cloudflare and Cisco, stop allowing users to access banned sites. “During the pre-election campaign, it is prohibited to enable the violation of Russian legislation, including those related to election campaigning on …
Read More »Ahead of next month’s Russian parliamentary elections, are cracks now opening in the popularity of the pro-Putin ruling party?
The United Russia party, which backs President Vladimir Putin and holds 334 of the State Duma’s 450 seats, is likely to come out on top. That said, there is still a lot to play for at the margins and the possibility of some major upsets remains. In the last parliamentary …
Read More »Ahead of next month’s Russian elections, Western ‘regime change’ activists are laying the groundwork for a new East-West stand-off
The difference is that when America or its allies do it, it’s called “promoting democracy.” Now, a campaign to undermine the legitimacy of Russia’s parliamentary elections, due to be held next month, is explicitly linked to power politics. Any criticism of that approach, however, is denounced as an attack on …
Read More »Anti-lockdown candidate Ayuso wins big in Madrid elections as Podemos party leader quits politics in defeat
With more than 99% of the ballots counted late on Tuesday night, Ayuso’s People’s Party took 45% of the vote, or 65 seats in the regional legislature, just four shy of an outright majority. Doubling its share of the vote compared to the last race in 2019, the People’s Party …
Read More »‘I’m not proposing a referendum right now’ says Sturgeon in independence U-turn as elections loom
“I don’t believe we should propose a referendum right at this moment,” Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon told BBC Radio 4 on Friday morning, adding that the country’s current problems had to be tackled first. In what may be seen as a U-turn for the Scottish leader, Sturgeon said she …
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