The European Union has rejected Russia’s recent parliamentary elections, with EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas describing the vote as evidence of the continued erosion of democratic competition in the country.
Russia held its State Duma elections from September 18 to 20, with President Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party securing a large majority. Preliminary results showed the party winning 57.83 per cent of the vote and 355 of the 450 seats in the lower house of parliament.
Kallas said the election outcome had been largely predictable, arguing that restrictions on political opposition and the exclusion of an anti-war party had limited the choices available to voters.
“The so-called Duma elections marked another major setback for Russian democracy. Their outcome was never in doubt,” Kallas wrote on X.
“The Kremlin silenced dissent, barred the only registered party that opposed its war in Ukraine, and shut out international election monitors. The veneer of democracy is all that remains in Russia.”
The EU also criticised Russia for not inviting observers from the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), saying this prevented an impartial and independent assessment of the election process.
Kallas said the EU was proposing sanctions against individuals involved in organising the elections in Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia, as well as people involved in undermining the possibility of free and fair elections inside Russia.
“I have proposed measures against those facilitating these sham elections in occupied Ukrainian territories,” she said.
The EU has specifically rejected the holding of Russian elections in Crimea and Sevastopol, as well as parts of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions that Russia occupies. The bloc said it would not recognise either the elections or their results in those territories.
The EU’s latest position comes as Russia’s ruling United Russia party strengthens its control of the State Duma. Reuters reported that the party’s 355-seat result gives it a constitutional majority in the 450-member chamber.
The European bloc has already imposed extensive sanctions in response to Russia’s war against Ukraine, targeting individuals and organisations across areas including finance, energy, defence and other sectors. The EU said further measures would be directed at those involved in the disputed elections.
Source: AFP
