The pro-Kremlin United Russia party has won 238 of 450 seats during elections to the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, marking a significant drop compared to 315 seats after 2007’s elections, the Central Election Committee said on Monday.
With votes from about 95 percent of polling stations counted, the ruling United Russia party is now slightly below the 50-percent mark with 49.67 percent, a far cry from the commanding two-thirds constitutional majority the party held in the State Duma for the past four years, according to the official count.
Other parties which crossed the entry barrier will receive more seats than in 2007. The Russian Communist Party (KPRF) came in second, taking 92 seats (compared to 57 seats in 2007); the Liberal Democratic Party (LDPR) scored 56 seats, increasing its presence by 16 seats. The A Just Russia party will have 64 deputies in the State Duma, 26 more than during the previous parliamentary elections.
The pro-Kremlin United Russia party took 46.5 percent of the votes in Moscow, after counting 97.2 percent of the ballots, which means it is still the single largest party.
The results of the polls have already sparked a wave of strong criticism from the Internet users citing massive fraud and violations.