For the first time since the start of the war in Ukraine, legislative elections are taking place in Russia
A third of the voters voted at 8.30 a.m. today, almost twice as many as five years ago. The votes will be conditioned by the electronic vote and the attacks by Ukraine (both sides have failed).
A voter voting at an electoral college in St. Petersburg.
A third of the voting population has already voted in the Russian legislative elections, according to the Central Electoral Commission (data collected until 8.30 a.m.), which for the first time in Russia since the start of the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The turnout data is up from five years ago, and it's almost twice as high as the previous polls.
The election began yesterday and will end tomorrow. The electronic vote is expected to have extra weight, as the Kremlin has campaigned for it.
For the rest, Ukraine and Russia have not reached an agreement on cease-fire for election days, so the Ukrainian attacks will be the other major factor in the vote.
According to the authorities, the majority of the population of Moscow's capital and region have voted telematically. According to the opposition, it is a tool to falsify the results. Russian President Vladimir Putin himself voted online, trying to set an example to the citizens.
The CikLea group of anonymous hackers has reported that they have hacked servers and found that the Central Electoral Board has created a dark voting system. They have therefore called on the public to go to polling stations on Sundays to prevent the authorities from falsifying the results.
The Chairman of the Election Commission, Ela Pamfilova, has stated that there have been no incidents on the first day, but the pacifist party in Jablo and the Communists have reported that they have put pressure on the observers and made it difficult for them to enter several polling stations.
It is well known that Putin's United Russia party will win the polls, but it remains to be seen how much support it does, because polls say 60% of Russians want to end the war; Putin's acceptance rate is the lowest ever.
No pain.
Russian air defences shot down 344 Ukrainian drones in Russia and Siberia last night. Russians and Ukrainians have not agreed to a 72-hour cease-fire, and the vote is taking place amid strong security measures.
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