Early voting is under way in Russia’s Parliamentary election, dominated by President Vladimir Putin’s supporters. Most Russians will vote on Sunday but in the remotest regions ballots were cast early, in a country spanning 11 time zones.
Evidence of vote-rigging sparked mass protests after the 2011 election. For the first time, Russia is holding elections to its Parliament in Crimea, which it annexed from Ukraine in 2014 in a move condemned internationally. Voters will choose 450 MPs in the State Duma (Lower House), for the next five years. The outgoing Duma had just a handful of MPs opposed to Mr Putin.
Despite Russia’s economic malaise and tensions with the West over the conflicts in Ukraine and Syria, some observers called the election campaign the dullest in recent memory. Widespread voter apathy suggests that turnout could be low. The first exit polls are expected on Sunday evening.