Results indicated that liberal opposition groups would not make it into parliament, with neither the Yabloko party, nor the Parnas party of former prime minister Mikhail Kasyanov and assassinated Putin critic Boris Nemtsov, having secured enough votes to win a seat. All four parties are loyal to Mr Putin and dominated the last parliament, or State Duma.
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The Central Elections Commission said Monday that with 90 percent of the vote counted, United Russia had 54 percent of the vote for the 225 seats chosen nationwide by party list.
An hour after the polls closed the President Vladimir Putin was at the party’s headquarters alongside Prime Minister and party leader Dmitry Medvedev to heap praise on campaign staff. The other three major parties, which include the Communist party, the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, and A Just Russia, are also expected to win a few seats in the lower house.
“The results of the vote reflect our citizens’ reaction to attempts of foreign pressure on Russian Federation, to sanctions, to attempts to destabilize the situation in our country from within”, Putin said.
Most voters do not see any viable alternative to Russian President Vladimir Putin and his allies.
Though the overall tally for United Russia was higher than the 49 percent it claimed in 2011, participation was low, particularly in Moscow and Saint Petersburg.
The popularity ratings of United Russia are far lower than those that Putin enjoys.
In previous elections, opposition parties have been barred from standing or their campaigning activities have been suppressed. The Just Russia party won 6.2 per cent, according to the incomplete vote count.
His spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the “overwhelming majority” of voters had come out for Putin in “an impressive vote of confidence”.
Election observers have weighed in on Russia’s parliamentary election, saying the vote fell short of being free and fair.
Ilkka Kanerva, a Finnish parliamentarian and special coordinator for the elections from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, said the OSCE had noted some improvements, including greater transparency when it came to administration. Half of the Duma, or lower house of parliament, seats will be determined by people voting for individuals whereas the other half will be selected from the party lists, unlike the last parliament election where every seat was drawn from the party lists.
Electoral Commission chief Ella Pamfilova admitted that there had been problems in certain regions but officials said the number of violations was way down on the last vote.
Elsewhere, there were reports of serious irregularities in one Siberian region, with suggestions of “carousel” voting – people bussed around polling stations – in the city of Barnaul.
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Pamfilova conceded, however, that the election “wasn’t sterile” and added that reports of ballot stuffing were confirmed in three polling stations.
