United Russia claims victory in Duma elections

PanARMENIAN.Net - President Putin's United Russia party has received 63.3% of the vote in Sunday's election to the State Duma, Russia's lower house, with 85% of the vote in, the Central Election Commission announced.



According to preliminary data, the Communist Party received 11.7%, the ultranationalist Liberal Democratic Party 8.4%, and Just Russia, led by Kremlin loyalists, gained 8% of the vote.



No other parties made it past the 7% threshold to gain seats in the State Duma. The Agrarian Party received 2.4% of votes, Yabloko 1.6%, Civil Force 1.1%, and Union of Right Forces (SPS) 1%. The other parties scored less than 1%.



The Central Election Commission (CEC) put voter turnout at around 60%, compared to 55.75% at the 2003 State Duma elections.



It's remarkable that United Russia garnered over 99% of votes in Chechnya, RIA Novosti reports.