The legislative election took place in Russia from September 17 to September 19, 2021. Every five years, citizens elect deputies to the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament. After counting 100 percent of the ballots, the
via proportional representation: United Russia, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (KPRF), the Liberal Democratic Party (LDPR), A Just Russia - For Truth, and a party that entered the parliament for the first time — New People. Looking at single-mandate constituencies, United Russia received the vast majority of seats. The election was held for three consecutive days for the first time. Residents of several regions, including the capital Moscow, could vote online.
How does the Russian parliamentary election work?
The
State Duma has a total of 450 seats, of which 225 are elected from party lists (a proportional representation with a five-percent threshold), and other 225 in single-mandate constituencies. After the party list results are counted and parties that received less than five percent of the votes are identified, the rest of the seats are proportionally distributed among the parties that passed the threshold.
If a party receives a total of more than 300 seats from both party lists and single-mandate constituencies, it receives a constitutional majority. In other words, that party receives a share of seats in the parliament that is required to make amendments to some constitutional articles and to overturn presidential vetoes. After the 2021 election, United Russia - the party supporting the president Vladimir Putin - maintained the constitutional majority it had already received in the 2016 election.
Generally supported by most of the population, the party focused on social support initiatives in its program.
'Smart voting' in the Russian parliamentary election 2021
The 'smart voting' strategy was presented to Russians by the
opposition leader Alexei Navalny in 2018. To reduce the number of votes for United Russia, Navalny's team suggested candidates from other parties that had the highest chances of being elected. At the time of the 2021 election, Navalny was imprisoned, his Anti-Corruption Foundation was recognized as extremist, and the website of 'smart voting' was officially banned. Nevertheless, Navalny's team launched an app "Navalny" with 'smart voting' suggestions, which Russian authorities demanded Google and Apple to remove from their app stores. However, those who accessed it before the removal could share that information privately or on social media.
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