Exit polls showed a crushing defeat for Putin's party at polling stations abroad
At overseas polling stations, the “United Russia” party’s results in the Russian State Duma elections were orders of magnitude lower than the figures announced within the country. According to an exit poll conducted by the “Vesna” and “Progress” civic groups, which surveyed more than 8,000 voters in 17 countries, the ruling party received between 0.4% in Belgrade and 6.75% in Oslo.
The “New People” party took first place abroad, receiving about 63% in Belgrade, 57% in The Hague, 49% in Prague, 39% in France, and 37% in Berlin. The Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) came in second, with 23% in Belgrade and 17% in Berlin. In contrast, “United Russia” received 0.7% in the Netherlands, 1.5% in Warsaw, 2.2% in Germany, and 4.3% in France.
Source: exit polls by the “Vesna” and “Progress” initiatives.
The three-day election for 450 seats in the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament, concluded on Sunday, September 20. According to the Russian Central Election Commission, voter turnout was close to 59.32%. CEC Chair Ella Pamfilova stated that the ruling “United Russia” party received 57.83% of the vote.
Thus, based on preliminary data, “United Russia” may secure a constitutional majority in the State Duma following the parliamentary elections. It could win 355 of the 450 seats.
