Moscow: More than 4.6 million people have participated in early voting for the Russian elections, as reported by Central Election Commission (CEC) Chair Ella Pamfilova.
According to Emirates News Agency, Pamfilova announced at a news briefing that precisely 4,663.96 million individuals cast their votes ahead of schedule across the Russian Federation. She highlighted that over 4.4 million of these early votes were from 12 regions where martial law is currently in effect.
The elections are set to take place on a single voting day from September 18-20, aimed at electing lawmakers to the 9th Russian State Duma. Notably, this election marks the first time that residents from the newly incorporated Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, along with the Kherson and Zaporozhye Regions, will participate in legislative elections for the lower house of the Russian parliament.
A total of ten political parties are competing in the election. Additionally, elections for regional legislative bodies will occur in 39 Russian constituent entities, alongside the elections for regional leaders. In eight regions, the leaders will be elected directly by the populace, while in three regions, they will be selected by the regional parliaments. Overall, 23,000 seats are expected to be filled during this electoral process.