“The pre-election campaign was marked by the authorities' clampdowns on opposition rallies and demonstrations. Voters were denied an open campaign, as United Russia chose not to participate in political debates, making it more difficult for voters to directly compare the platforms of the various political parties. There were persistent reports of harassment of opposition candidates, detentions, confiscation of election material, threats against voters and allegations of the potential misuse of absentee certificates,” said the statement.Russian President Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party won over 60% of the vote, which is expected to translate into around 315 out of the 450 seats in the parliament. With 1.5% of the vote, ELDR member party Yabloko fell below the 7% threshold needed to win any seats in parliament.

Yabloko party leader Grigory Yavlinsky said in a statement on 3 December: “This result means a gradual or fast transition to a totalitarian system in Russia, a system of one leader, one party, one ideology. The immediate consequence of this system will be corruption, lawlessness and violence.”