Vladimir Putin's United Russia party was heading for a clear victory in the legislative elections this Sunday.

A poll conducted at the exit of the polling stations detailed by the state news channel Rossiya-24 places the Kremlin party at 45.2% ahead of the Communists at 21%.

According to the first results unveiled by the Electoral Commission, covering more than 10% of the polling stations, United Russia obtained more than 39% of the votes, ahead of the Communists of the KPRF (24.67%).

Next come the nationalists of the LDPR (9.4%), then a newcomer to the political scene, the “New People” party (7.7%), and the centrists of Fair Russia (6.8%).

The supporters of the opponent Alexeï Navalny banned from the poll

These scores will govern the allocation of half of the 450 seats of deputies in the Duma, the lower house of Parliament, the others being allocated by majority vote.

Some 108 million Russians were called to the polls.

In the previous legislative elections in 2016, United Russia obtained 54.2% of the vote and the Communists 13.3%, the latter could therefore improve their score.

The supporters of the opponent Alexeï Navalny, imprisoned since his return in January to Russia after a poisoning which he attributes to the Kremlin, had been banned from the poll after their organization was classified "extremist" by justice.

Communists driven by the "smart vote" strategy

The movement had therefore developed a strategy of "intelligent vote" intended to support the candidates - often Communists - best placed to hamper those in power.

In the past, this approach had met with some success, especially in Moscow in 2019.

According to one of its representatives, the result of the Communists, if it is confirmed, is therefore a success.

"The objective of the smart vote was to break the monopoly of United Russia, and that is what is happening," Lioubov Sobol hoped on the YouTube channel Navalny Live.

Numerous frauds and irregularities

Independent observers and opponent reported significant fraud throughout the ballot, organized partly online.

According to a list by the specialized NGO Golos, more than 4,500 possible irregularities have been reported, including ballot stuffing.

The President of the Electoral Commission, Ella Pamfilova rejected these claims, judging that "the offenses were much less" than in the past, because the Russian electoral system has become "so transparent".

To counter the “smart vote” advocated by Alexeï Navalny and his family, the Russian authorities had put pressure on the internet giants in recent weeks, obtaining on Friday that they remove the dedicated mobile application from their store.

According to sources interviewed by AFP, Google and Apple obeyed for fear of arrests of their employees in Russia.

Telegram messaging, very popular in Russia, has also removed these voting instructions on its platform.

Confidence rating less than 30%

United Russia, even victorious, is however far from having won the hearts of the Russians, as evidenced by its confidence rating of less than 30%, according to the state polling center VTsIOM.

The party is undermined by corruption cases, often revealed by the movement of Alexeï Navalny.

In addition, the Russians have seen their standard of living crumble in recent years, a reality that has accelerated with the pandemic.

This very tarnished image does not however threaten Vladimir Poutine who remains popular.

“We just believe in him,” says Anna Kartachova, a 50-year-old Moscow employee, employee of a pharmaceutical company.

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