Author:  Salome Abramishvili

Elections to the Russian State Duma of the 8th convocation were held on September 17-19, 2021. The elections were held according to a mixed system. Half of the deputies (225 mandates) were elected according to party lists, and the remaining 225 - in single-mandate constituencies with a five-year term.

Noteworthy, that the Russian State Duma elections were held in a three-day format for the first time this year. Voting began on September 17 and September 19 was declared as the main voting day. Voters could cast their ballots both online and in person at polling stations. In addition to Moscow, the possibility of electronic voting was provided to residents of six regions: Murmansk, Kursk, Nizhny Novgorod, Rostov and Yaroslavl regions, as well as Sevastopol.

A total of 348 polling stations were opened outside Russia, in 144 countries. Russian passport holders living on the occupied territories of Georgia - Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region - also took part in the voting. Russia began the so-called passportization process and granting Russian citizenship to them several years before Russia’s recognition of the independence of these regions in August 2008. Servicemen of the military bases of the Southern Military District of the Russian Federation also participated in the elections in Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region. In total, seven polling stations were setup abroad, on the territory of the military units of the Southern Military District, including one in Gudauta, two in Tskhinvali and Java, and three in Armenia for voting at the 102nd Russian military base in Gyumri and Yerevan.

Elections in Abkhazia

The Russian State Duma elections have been held in Abkhazia since 2011. In 2016, more than 20 thousand voters took part in the voting from Abkhazia, 75% of which voted for the Ruling United Russia party. The 2021 elections were held on September 19.

Work of the Election Organizing Committee

The “Vice President” of Abkhazia, Badra Gunba, held a meeting to discuss organizational issues of the Duma elections on September 13. According to Gunba, Abkhazia is fifth in the number of polling stations outside Russia and he feels responsibile to ensure a peaceful and secure environment for elections. The “Vice President” instructed the de facto Ministry of Internal Affairs and the traffic police to monitor the election process and maintain order, as well as to assist “local government representatives” in the work of the precinct commission.

Employees of the de facto Ministry of Internal Affairs of Abkhazia together with the Cynology Service of the Ministry's Training Center inspected polling stations and surrounding areas with technical equipment and dogs a day before the elections. They have been monitoring all polling stations 24 hours a day since 18 September. A polling station in the village of Bambora, Gudauta district, which was opened for the 7th Russian military base, was guarded by German Shepherds which sniff-searched voters.

In addition, members of the Election Committee strictly monitored compliance with COVID regulations. They asked voters to wear masks and gloves and measured their temperature.

Elections in Abkhazia. Source:  sputnik-abkhazia.ru

Location of Polling Stations on the Territory of Abkhazia

The Russian Duma elections were held at nine polling stations in Abkhazia, on September 19. Two polling stations were opened in Sokhumi and one each in Gagra, Bichvinta, Gudauta, Ochamchire, Tkvarcheli, Gali, and the village of Bambora. Citizens were given two ballot papers. They voted for 14 parties, as well as majoritarian MPs from the Voronezh, Leningrad, Samar districts and the Trans-Baikal region.

Elections in the Tskhinvali Region

Snap elections on the “territory of the Republic of South Ossetia” for servicemen of the 4th Russian military base and officers of the border department of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation, numbering 3.5 thousand, were held from September 3 to September 16. The snap elections were scheduled due to the fact that military servicemen are deployed in regions far from the polling stations. As for civilians, they voted for three days - September 17-19.

Observers which were approved by the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation monitored the elections in the Tskhinvali region. A special method for counting votes was also developed. The precinct commission counted all the ballots by hand, filled in the protocols which were signed by all members of the commission. The protocols were then sent to the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation to verify the correctness of the vote count.

Location of Polling Stations in the Tskhinvali region

A total of 10 polling stations, nine for civilians and one for serviceman of the 4th Russian military base, were opened on the territory of the Republic of South Ossetia. There were six polling stations in Tskhinvali and one each in Java, Kornisi, Akhalgori, and Kvaisa. An off-site voting was organized on the basis of a written or oral request for those citizens who were unable to visit polling stations due to their health condition.

Evaluation of the Elections in the Tskhinvali Region

The “President” Anatoly Bibilov voted in the building of the “Russian Embassy in South Ossetia” on the first day of the elections. He stressed that he supported “strong Russia” and called on voters to be active and respect the ongoing political processes in Russia.

On September 19, the “Minister of Foreign Affairs” of Abkhazia, Daur Kove, and the “First Deputy Minister of Defense,” Colonel-General Beslan Tsvizhba, paid a special visit to the “Republic of South Ossetia” to mark the 31st anniversary of the founding of the Republic of South Ossetia. They voted at the “Embassy of the Russian Federation” in Tskhinvali.

According to Alexander Yutkin, the chairman of the precinct commission at the embassy, ​​the elections were held in a calm, festive atmosphere without any violations where voters even came with balloons.

On the day of election, police patrolled the territory of the “Republic of South Ossetia” 24 hours a day. For security reasons, they also inspected polling stations in advance.

Anatoly Bibilov at the Polling Station of the “Russian Embassy.” Source:  sputnik-ossetia.ru

International Observers from Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali Region

Observers from Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region were also invited to monitor the elections in Moscow. Abkhaz “MPs,” Valeri Agrba and Astamur Logua, as well as the “Chairman of the Central Election Commission of Abkhazia,” Tamaz Gogia, were present as international observers from Abkhazia. As for the Tskhinvali region, the “First Vice-Speaker of the Parliament,” Petr Gasiev, and the “Head of the Budget and Tax Committee,” Elena Jioeva, arrived in Moscow to monitor the voting process.

Results of the Elections

In total, 14,549 people participated in the elections at nine polling stations in Abkhazia. As for the Tskhinvali region, over 2,000 people voted on the first day, the number of voters increased 3.5 times on the second day and the highest turnout was recorded on September 19, the last day of the elections. In total, 11,000 Russian citizens voted in the Tskhinvali region. Most of the voters were of retirement age, while young people were less active. Russian vacationers also benefited from voting in Abkhazia.

According to the preliminary data of the Russian “Embassy” in Abkhazia, the Ruling United Russia party  won at all polling stations in Abkhazia, while Yuri Grigoriev (majoritarian candidate of the A Just Russia party from the Trans-Baikal region), Alexey Gordeev (majoritarian candidate of the United Russia party from the Voronezh region), Alexander Khinstein (majoritarian candidate of the United Russia party from the Samara region), and Svetlana Zhurova (majoritarian candidate of the United Russia party from the Leningrad region), won in the single-mandate constituencies.

Only 20% of the ballots are counted at this time. According to preliminary results, the United Russia party which supports the President Putin retained a constitutional majority in the 450-member Duma, winning 42.92% of the vote. According to the Russian Central Election Commission, the 5% threshold was crossed by four other election subjects: the Communist Party (23.04%), the Liberal Democratic Party (8.77%), the Fair Russia-Patriots-for-Truth (7.14%), and New People (6.87%). The final results of the elections are expected to be announced on September 24.

Statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia issued a statement where it condemns the fact of holding the Russian Duma elections on the occupied territories and assesses this as Moscow’s another destructive step towards the violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia. The statement reads that by conducting elections on the occupied territories, Russia grossly violates the fundamental norms of the international law and completely ignores the UN Charter and the Helsinki Final Act. With this statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also addresses the international community and calls on to effectively response to Russia’s another illegal move against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia. The de facto Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Abkhazia called the statement of Georgia an open attempt to interfere in the internal affairs of Abkhazia, stressing that holding elections in Abkhazia does not violate Georgia's interests and the Georgian authorities should stop speculating about their territorial integrity and presenting themselves as innocent victims.