The European Union has threatened new sanctions against those responsible for organizing Russia’s State Duma elections in occupied Ukrainian territories, as Moscow’s ruling party claimed a decisive victory in voting held September 18-20.
United Russia Claims Landslide
According to preliminary results from Russia’s Central Election Commission, United Russia (“Единая Россия”) won approximately 57.8% of the vote, securing a constitutional majority of around 355 seats in the 450-member Duma. The Communist Party (КПРФ) finished second with 13.8%, followed by the Liberal Democratic Party (ЛДПР) at 8.99% and New People at 7.96%. Turnout reached a record 59.32%, with over 62 million voters participating.
EU Condemns “Erosion of Democracy”
EU High Representative Kaja Kallas stated that the elections “underscored the continued and deepening erosion of democracy in Russia”. The EU specifically condemned the “illegal organisation of so-called ‘elections'” in Crimea, Sevastopol, and parts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions.
“The European Union reiterates that it does not and will never recognise either the holding of these so-called ‘elections’ in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine or their results,” the statement said, adding that “those involved in organising these sham elections or standing as candidates… will be sanctioned”.
In a post on X, Kallas said she had “proposed measures against those facilitating these sham elections in occupied Ukrainian territories”.
The EU also criticized Russia’s exclusion of Yabloko party candidates, described as “the only party with an anti-war platform,” and expressed regret that OSCE observers were not invited.
