Voting conluded for Russian lower house elections

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Last Updated20/09/2021

Voting was conducted across Russia’s 11 time zones to elect 450 members of the country’s lower chamber of parliament, Duma.
Both independent media and election monitoring agencies like Golos have reported violations like vote-buying and lack of proper measures for guarding ballots at polling stations.
Ever since 2003, the State Duma has been dominated by pro-Putin United Russia party, which currently holds a three-quarters supermajority.

It is one of the chambers of the Russian parliament, the Federal Assembly.
It is a legislative authority that consists of 450 members elected for five years.
Its main tasks are adoption of federal constitutional and federal laws, control over the activity of the Russian Government, appointment and dismissal of heads of the Central Bank, Accounts Chamber and High Commissioner on Human Rights etc.

The first representative body of legislative power was created in the Russian Empire in 1905 as result of the revolution.
On 6 August 1905, Emperor Nicholas II issued a Manifesto on Establishment and Organisational Rules of one of the parliament chambers – the State Duma.
On 17 October 1905, the Emperor signed a new Manifesto establishing that no law could enter into force without an approval of the State Duma.
Thus the State Duma was transformed from an advisory body to a legislative organ.

After the February revolution Soviets became a representative body. * In accordance with adopted Constitutions of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR) and Soviet Union of Socialist Republics (USSR), representative and legislative functions were performed by the All-Russian Central Executive Committee.

In the modern history of Russia, the State Duma, along with the Federation Council, is one of the two chambers of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation.
Federal constitutional laws and federal laws adopted by the State Duma constitute the main source of law.