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The parliament and local opinion polls of the world’s largest country began on Friday and span 11 time zones.
Russians in the Far East have begun voting in three-day parliamentary elections. After a historic crackdown on the opposition, most outspoken Kremlin critics have been banned from running.
The parliament and local polls of the world’s largest country across 11 time zones began on Friday. As Muscovites prepare to go to bed, residents of Chukotka and Kamchatka in the Far East are preparing to vote.
“Let’s go!” Ella Pamfilova, chairman of the Central Election Commission, said in the live broadcast.
Voters will be able to vote until Sunday.
The polls were conducted after weeks of intermittent election campaigns, but the ruthless official actions taken in months to shut down important opposition groups are unlikely to change the country’s political landscape.
No one expects the United Russia Party, the party dedicated to President Vladimir Putin, to lose its dominance in the State Duma elected by the lower house of parliament.
Putin urged Russians to vote and stated in a video message on Thursday that “the election of new members is undoubtedly the most important event in our society and national life.”
Of the 450 seats in the Duma, 14 parties provide candidates for half of the seats selected on the party list. The election is truly competitive.
But with the exception of united Russia, the three parties that are expected to gain the 5% support rate required to obtain seats rarely challenge the Kremlin.
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