---
title: "United Russia leads in the State Duma elections: what the protocols and remote electronic voting show"
description: "After the processing of 14% of the protocols, United Russia receives around 57% in the State Duma elections, the CPRF — 14%, the LDPR — 9%. In remote electronic voting, New People receive 15.42%. In Chechnya, Kadyrov leads with 97.35% at 2.4% of ballots. Voting in the occupied territories of Ukraine has been deemed illegal."
date: 2026-09-20T21:34:00.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/2026-russian-state-duma-election-results-united-russia
tags: [russia, state-duma, elections-2026, united-russia, kremlin, deg-voting, chechnya]
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# United Russia leads in the State Duma elections: what the protocols and remote electronic voting show

![Election commission members counting votes in the State Duma elections: protocols and online voting data showing United Russia's lead](https://xab.info/media/2026/09/21/rezultaty-vyborov-gosdumu-2026-edinaya-rossiya/rezultaty-vyborov-gosdumu-2026-edinaya-rossiya-1.webp)

## 🎯 Key Points

- United Russia leads with ~57% after the processing of 14% of the protocols; CPRF — 14%, LDPR — 9%, New People — 8%
- According to remote electronic voting data, New People receive 15.42%, which is twice their result from the paper protocols
- In 7 of 8 regional referendums, incumbent heads are leading; in Chechnya Kadyrov is at 97.35% at 2.4% of ballots
- Voting in the occupied territories of Ukraine has been deemed illegal; the SBU and the Ombudsman called for a boycott

On 18 September 2026, the campaign for the elections to the new convocation of the State Duma of the Russian Federation began. It lasted several days and was accompanied, according to observers, by instances of pressure on independent observers, coercion of budget-sector workers into voting, and large-scale falsifications. Even at the start of the vote, Ukrainian law enforcement agencies and the Ombudsman of the Verkhovna Rada, Dmytro Lubinets, warned that Moscow was preparing an illegal vote in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, creating the appearance of a "normal life" in the seized regions. The SBU, for its part, called on Ukrainian citizens who found themselves in the occupation zone not to take part in these elections. Nevertheless, as the protocols were processed, the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation published interim data recording a steady lead for the ruling party.

### Results after protocol processing: the dominance of United Russia

According to the data recorded after the processing of around 14% of the protocols, United Russia received approximately 57% of the votes. The Communist Party (CPRF) came in second with a result of around 14%, the LDPR third (9%), New People fourth (8%), while Fair Russia closed the top five with 5.16%. It is important to stress that all of the parties listed, apart from formal differences in their names and programmatic declarations, have for years demonstrated complete loyalty to the Kremlin and do not represent any real opposition to the incumbent regime. Thus, even with several parties having entered parliament, political competition in the country is in fact absent, and the vote is of a ritual nature.

### Remote electronic voting: figures that do not add up

A separate layer of data was provided by so-called remote electronic voting (REV), which in Russian society and among international observers is regarded as one of the least transparent and most susceptible to manipulation of tools. According to the REV results, United Russia receives 49.06% of the votes, New People — 15.42%, and the CPRF — 12.26%. Notably, the REV results do not take into account the Kaliningrad region. The gap between the REV indicators and the overall data from the paper protocols — in particular, the twofold superiority of New People in the electronic segment (15.42% versus 8%) — raises additional questions about the representativeness and reliability of each of the counting channels.

### Regional elections: incumbent heads retain their posts

In parallel with the vote for the State Duma, elections of heads of eight regions were held in Russia — Mordovia, Tuva, Chechnya, as well as the Belgorod, Bryansk, Penza, Tver, and Ulyanovsk regions. According to the CEC, in seven of the eight regions the incumbents or acting heads are leading, that is, the same individuals who previously headed the respective territories. The most telling example is Chechnya: after the processing of just 2.4% of the ballots, Ramzan Kadyrov is leading with a result of 97.35% of the votes. Such figures, recorded on an extremely small sample, traditionally raise doubts about the objectivity of the count; however, in the absence of a real alternative and under pressure on the election commissions, the outcome is predictable.

### Contradictory data

When various sources are compared, a significant difference is observed in the stages of protocol processing and, accordingly, in the final figures. The baseline data, recorded at the stage of processing around 14% of the protocols, show United Russia at the level of 57%. However, according to information published at a later stage — after the processing of 83% of the protocols — the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation announced different interim results which, in the wording of CEC representatives, indicate that the parties "performed respectably." The specific percentage values at the 83% mark are presented with variations in open sources, which makes it difficult to make a precise comparison with the data at the 14% mark. Moreover, the discrepancy between the overall results and the REV data (in particular, regarding New People and the CPRF) remains officially unexplained. Both versions — the early snapshot at 14% and the later one at 83% — record the lead of United Russia, however the absolute figures and the gap between the parties may differ depending on the stage of the count.

### Context: occupied territories and Kyiv's position

The geographical aspect of the vote deserves separate attention. Even before the start of the campaign, the Ombudsman of the Verkhovna Rada, Dmytro Lubinets, stated that Russia was preparing illegal "elections" to the State Duma in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine with the aim of creating an appearance of legitimacy and a "normal life" in the seized regions. He called on Ukrainian citizens not to take part in the vote. The Security Service of Ukraine also issued an appeal to citizens in the occupation zone recommending that they boycott these elections. Thus, part of the votes formally included in the CEC of the Russian Federation's final results was obtained in territories not recognized by the international community as part of Russia, which further undermines the legitimacy of the published results.

### Conclusions: formal legitimacy without political competition

The totality of the data — from 57% for United Russia at the early stage of the count to 97.35% for Kadyrov in Chechnya at 2.4% of processed ballots — paints a picture of a vote in which the outcome was predetermined long before the polling stations opened. The absence of a real opposition, pressure on observers, manipulation through REV, and the conduct of the vote in occupied territories make these "elections" more of an administrative ritual than a mechanism for expressing the will of the voters. For the international observer, the key conclusion is that even with several parliamentary parties present, Russia's political system remains single-party in essence, and any fluctuations of the figures within 5–10 points do not change the overall picture.

## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification

- [Preliminary results of the "elections" to the State Duma announced in Russia](https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/rosiyi-ogolosili-poperedni-rezultati-viboriv-1789939911.html) - Подтверждает публикацию предварительных результатов ЦИК РФ и лидерство «Единой России». Совпадает с базовым текстом по общей динамике.
- ["Performed respectably": the CEC of the Russian Federation spoke about the election results after the processing of 83% of the protocols](https://bloknot.ru/obshhestvo/vystupili-dostojno-v-tsik-rf-rasskazali-ob-itogah-vyborov-posle-obrabotki-83-protokolov-1539923.html) - Фиксирует более поздний этап обработки (83%), что создаёт временнóй разрыв с данными на 14% из базового текста. Конкретные проценты на 83% в заголовке не раскрыты — требуется сверка с полным текстом для точного сопоставления.
- [Preliminary results of the "elections" announced in the Russian Federation](https://korrespondent.net/world/russia/4913338-v-rf-obiavyly-predvarytelnye-rezultaty-vyborov) - Украинское издание фиксирует публикацию предварительных результатов. Использует кавычки для слова «выборы», что согласуется с редакционной линией XAB.info.
- [Who won in the State Duma elections: "United Russia" in four constituencies of the Chelyabinsk region](https://news.rambler.ru/politics/57098868-kto-pobedil-na-vyborah-v-gosdumu-edinaya-rossiya-v-chetyreh-okrugah-chelyabinskoy-oblasti/) - Подтверждает победу «Единой России» в конкретных одномандатных округах (Челябинская область), что согласуется с общепартийным лидерством.

## ❓ FAQ

### Q: Which parties are leading in the 2026 State Duma elections?
**A:** After the processing of around 14% of the protocols, United Russia receives approximately 57% of the votes, the CPRF — around 14%, the LDPR — 9%, New People — 8%, and Fair Russia — 5.16%. According to observers, none of these parties represents a real opposition.

### Q: What is remote electronic voting (REV) and why do its results differ from the overall ones?
**A:** REV is remote electronic voting, which in Russia is considered the least transparent counting channel. According to REV data, New People receive 15.42%, whereas from the paper protocols — 8%. The REV results do not take into account the Kaliningrad region. The reasons for the discrepancy have not been officially explained.

### Q: What is happening with the elections in the occupied territories of Ukraine?
**A:** The Ombudsman of the Verkhovna Rada, Dmytro Lubinets, and the SBU stated that Russia is conducting an illegal vote in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. Ukrainian citizens in the occupation zone have been advised not to take part in these elections.

### Q: Which regions held elections of heads in parallel with the State Duma?
**A:** Voting took place in parallel in Mordovia, Tuva, Chechnya, and the Belgorod, Bryansk, Penza, Tver, and Ulyanovsk regions. In seven of the eight regions, incumbent heads or acting officials are leading. In Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov is leading with 97.35% after the processing of 2.4% of the ballots.