‘People of Russia support our efforts’: Putin says record turnout shows Russians back his military agenda in Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday said high voter turnout in the country's parliamentary election showed public support for his policies and for the armed forces fighting in Ukraine, after preliminary results gave his United Russia party a record parliamentary majority.More than 97% of the votes had been counted, with United Russia expected to win more than three-fourths of the 450 seats in the State Duma, according to election officials cited by news agency AP.Near-complete results showed the party securing 355 seats, or nearly 80% of the lower house, after winning more than 57% of the vote.The election, held over three days from September 18 to 20, was the first parliamentary poll since Putin launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.It was also the first to include residents of four Ukrainian regions that Russia seized and declared annexed later that year. Ukraine has rejected the voting in those territories as illegal.Putin links turnout to support for war effortPutin, speaking publicly about the results for the first time, said turnout demonstrated support for the government's policies.“Such a high, even record, number of people who came out and voted shows that the people of Russia support our efforts aimed at strengthening the country,” he said, according to Reuters.Russia's Central Electoral Commission put turnout at 59.3%, while AP reported that turnout exceeded 59% of the 111 million eligible voters, making it the highest for a parliamentary election in more than a decade.Putin also directly addressed Russian troops fighting in Ukraine.“This vote is for you. People believe in you, believe in our victory, believe in your courage, in your heroism,” he said.Putin further said, “I have no doubt that all the goals we set for the special military operation will be fulfilled,” using the Kremlin's term for the war.Voting held amid Ukrainian drone attacksThe election took place amid continued Ukrainian drone attacks on Russia.Russia's defence ministry said it had shot down 1,110 drones overnight on Sunday. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said 450 drones targeting the capital were downed in what he described as the city's “largest ever” attack.Officials said the attacks damaged an oil refinery and a residential building and killed three people and injured 38 in the wider Moscow region.“They tried to hamper our efforts, to derail the election, as evidenced by the enemy’s continuous efforts to breach air defenses around Moscow and in other regions,” Putin said.“But lines at polling stations have shown that Russia can’t be intimidated.”Authorities extended voting to three days and used online voting in some regions. Voting was also held in Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014, and in the four Ukrainian regions claimed by Moscow.United Russia set for record majorityPreliminary results indicated that United Russia would win between 347 and 355 seats. The party secured just under 58% of the party-list vote for 225 seats and won 208 single-seat constituencies, which make up the other half of the Duma.Several smaller parties that form Russia's “systemic opposition” are expected to take most of the remaining seats. Only a small number are expected to go to candidates who ran without party affiliation.The liberal Yabloko party, which had publicly criticised the war, was removed from the ballot by Russia's Supreme Court last month and had only a limited number of candidates in single-seat contests.Preliminary results showed that none of its candidates had won a seat.The election was conducted under extensive state media coverage and tight political controls, while voting also took place in territories whose annexation by Russia has been rejected by Ukraine.You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.