With 76 percent of the protocols processed, the ruling United Russia party received 49.16 percent of the vote in the parliamentary elections, and can count on 196 seats for which a majority vote is cast, the Central Election Commission said, citing the business information platform RBC.

These numbers mean that President Vladimir Putin's party retains its constitutional majority in the Duma, the lower house of parliament, which suggests it has more than 300 of the 450 seats.

Turnout was 45.15%, according to the latest data released at 6 pm Moscow time yesterday.

In second place is the Communist Party of the Russian Federation with 19.95% of the vote. They are followed by the nationalist Liberal Democratic Party of Vladimir Zhirinovsky with 7.59%; the Social Democrats from "Fair Russia-Patriots-For Justice" led by Sergei Mironov with 7.37% and the New People party, founded last year by the center-right and liberal formation of businessman Alexei Nechaev with 5.43%. These formations have so far crossed the 5 percent barrier to entering the Duma.

In single-member constituencies, United Russia has so far won 87.12% of the seats (196 seats), the Communists 6.23% or 14 seats, and the Social Democrats 3.11% (7 seats). The Liberal Democratic Party, the Liberal Party Yabloko, Rodina, the Party of Growth, and the Civic Platform take one place each. Independent candidates win three terms.

In the 2016 State Duma elections, United Russia received 54.2% of the vote or 343 seats in the lower house of the Russian parliament. This result, which reflected the nationalist rise since the annexation of Crimea in 2014, was 4.88% better than the previous elections in 2011 when the ruling party had won 49.32% or 238 seats.

/ClubZ

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