Russia: Communist Party gets big boost in elections

The Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) is considered the big winner of the 2021 legislative elections despite the victory of Vladimir Putin's governing United Russia party.  

 

Russian authorities have been accused of large-scale vote rigging in the election process over the weekend, while the Kremlin denies the allegations.

With 95.05% of the voting results processed, CPRF gains 19.20% of the votes, while the United Russia party secures 49.63% of the ballots on the party list to the State Duma (lower house of parliament).

According to preliminary voting results, United Russia secures 112 mandates on the list. It is also dominating in 199 single-member constituencies. Thus, as a result, United Russia so far secures the constitutional majority in the lower house (over 300 mandates).

The results of the other political parties are: the far-right Liberal Democratic Party of Vladimir Zhirinovsky (7.48%), A Just Russia - Patriots - For Truth (7.43%) and New People (5.4%). Thus, these five parties broke through the 5% barrier to enter the State Duma.

Elections to the 8th Russian State Duma were held over a period of three days - on September 17, 18 and 19. In addition to the State Duma elections, voters went to the polls to cast ballots for the heads of nine Russian regions and in elections for 39 regional parliaments. 

In a statement issued last week, the International Department of the CC of the CPRF had denounced various attacks on the party, law violations by the government and censorship by mass media.   

Zyuganov pleased with party’s election results

The leader of CPRF Gennady Zyuganov said on Monday that his party appears to have done well at the 2021 legislative elections. "The Communist Party together with the left patriotic forces performed quite successfully at these elections, Zyuganov told a news conference.

"We were heard by remote parts of Russia first of all, not only responding to our appeals but also turning out en masse [to the polling stations] on [September] 19," the politician added. He drew attention to the fact that the vote-counting began from the Far East, where, according to him, United Russia ceded a number of positions. "We have practically the same results from Sakhalin to Tomsk (Siberia), which gives us grounds to state that the wind of freedom and revival of the country is now blowing from the east," Zyuganov stressed.

 

CPRF will not recognize Moscow e-voting results

The Communist Party of the Russian Federation will not recognize electronic voting results which reversed its candidates’ strong leads in the country’s parliamentary elections held over the weekend, a party official said Monday.

Several Communist Party candidates who appeared set to win their races suddenly fell behind candidates from the ruling, pro-Kremlin party as soon as election officials started releasing e-voting results Monday.

The Communists saw “how the picture changed after the digital result was thrown out,” Dmitry Novikov, deputy chairman of the party’s Central Committee, told reporters.

“We will prove and convince the country that it needs to rebel and fight against these digital innovations,” the Ekho Moskvy radio station quoted Novikov as saying.

Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov called on supporters “to defend the election results like the Podolsk cadets defended Moscow [during World War II].”

Mikhail Lobanov, a Communist Party candidate in a western Moscow district, led against pro-Kremlin television host Yevgeny Popov by a 10,800-vote margin. After the e-voting results were released, Popov defeated Lobanov by 20,000 votes.

"I know this result is not possible," Lobanov tweeted, calling on all candidates who lost due to e-voting to "meet today and discuss further actions” on Pushkin Square in central Moscow.

Moscow authorities denied Communist Party requests to hold protests on Monday, Tuesday and over the weekend soon after, citing coronavirus restrictions.

kprf.ru / TASS