Moscow, Sept. 12, (dpa/GNA) - In Russia’s first local elections since the invasion of Ukraine, Kremlin-backed candidates swept to victory as expected, state news agencies reported on Monday.
All 14 incumbent governors who stood for re-election retained their post, while the Kremlin’s United Russia party kept a majority in most regional and city legislatures.
Voting was held from Friday to Sunday in more than 80 regions.
The independent election observers from the Golos organization listed numerous signs of fraud; Russian authorities, on the other hand, reported that no major violations of election rules were registered.
Before the polls, opposition activists complained that candidates who spoke out against Russia’s war in Ukraine were not allowed to run.
The highest result among the governors was achieved by the head of the republic of Buryatia in Siberia, Alexey Tsydenov. He officially ended up with 86.23% of the vote.
The most modest result from the Kremlin’s point of view was delivered by Alexander Brechalov with an official 64.38% of the vote in the republic of Udmurtia on the Volga.
GNA