Russia's Kremlin Sustains Control
Consistent with the polls of recent weeks, United Russia gained over 60% of the vote in the elections on Dec. 2. With 97.9% of electoral protocols counted, the Central Electoral Commission reported that just four parties had surpassed the 7% threshold. Apart from United Russia, they were the Communist Party (CPRF), the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) and Just Russia. The elections were conducted under fully proportional electoral rules, which raised the threshold from 5% to 7% and removed the option of voting against all candidates. They produced fewer wasted votes and a higher level of voter turnout. With the support of President Vladimir Putin throughout the election campaign, United Russia significantly boosted its support. Under the old electoral rules, just 37.5% of the electorate voted for the Kremlin's party in 2003, and a large proportion of its support in parliament came from deputies originally elected as independents. Thus, many commentators believed that the introduction of electoral changes depriving independents of representation would significantly reduce United Russia's parliamentary majority. However, Putin's decision to head the party's list appears to have made the critical difference.
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