September 18, 2026 | 02:48 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Russians began casting ballots on Friday to elect a new lower house of parliament, kicking off a three-day vote that President Vladimir Putin's party is all but guaranteed to win.
This is the first such election being held since Moscow sent troops to invade Ukraine in February 2022.
Parties that support Putin's war in Ukraine are the only ones registered to run, and the opposition is barred from taking part.
Despite expectations of Putin's easy win, the elections are widely being viewed as a referendum on the continuation of his military campaign—now in its fifth year.
The polls are taking place at a time when public sentiment is starting to shift against the war over rising prices, internet crackdowns, fuel shortages and rumors of another mobilization drive following the elections.
Meanwhile, Putin has called the vote a "collective contribution to Russia's victory against Ukraine.
Vote for control
More than 110 million Russians are eligible to vote for 450 members of the lower house of the Russian Parliament, known as the State Duma.
Putin's United Russia party currently controls over two-thirds of the seats and is expected to retain its dominance, allowing it to continue the military campaign despite ebbing public support.
The Kamchatka peninsula and Chukotka were the first of Russia's 11 time zones to begin voting on Friday.
Polls will remain open until 1800 GMT on Sunday.
Voting is being held for the first time in the Russia-occupied Ukrainian territories of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, against Kyiv's wishes. The Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, annexed by Moscow in 2014, is participating for the second time.
While voters select their parliamentarians, members of regional parliaments will also be elected in eight regions.
Read: Ukraine: Russian Strikes Injure Several in Kyiv, Odesa
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