Ruling Party Secures Record Majority in Russia's Wartime Election Amid High Turnout and Drone Attacks

Russian authorities released the full results of the country's first wartime parliamentary election on Friday, September 25, 2026. The three-day vote ended on September 20 and further strengthened the political control of the Kremlin. The main Kremlin party, United Russia, won more than three-fourths of the seats in the lower house, known as the State Duma, marking a record high. Central Election Commission chief Ella Pamfilova stated that United Russia secured 349 out of 450 Duma seats. The party received just under 58 percent of the votes for the 225 seats divided by parties and won 209 single-seat races. Smaller parties that generally support Kremlin policies won 97 seats, while four seats went to independent candidates. Nearly 60 percent of the 111 million eligible voters cast ballots, which marks the highest voter turnout for a parliamentary election in over a decade. Authorities boosted participation by spreading voting over three days and enabling online voting in select regions. This election was the first parliamentary vote since President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. It included voting in Crimea and four other regions seized and annexed by Moscow. Kyiv criticized the voting in those areas as illegal. President Putin stated on Wednesday, September 23, that the results showed public backing for Kremlin policies. A strong state media push helped the ruling party maintain power despite economic issues and long-range drone attacks. The liberal Yabloko party, the sole registered group that openly criticized the war, was removed from the ballot by the Supreme Court last month, and none of its few remaining independent candidates won seats. Meanwhile, parties included dozens of Ukraine war veterans on their candidate lists. The vote occurred during heavy drone strikes. Russia's Defense Ministry reported shooting down 1,110 drones overnight on Sunday. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported that 450 drones were intercepted heading toward the capital in what he called the largest attack on the city, which officials said damaged an oil refinery and a residential building, killed three people, and injured 38 in the wider region. Pamfilova also reported that six polling workers died and 75 polling stations were damaged or destroyed by shelling during the election period.