Russia has begun three-day elections to the ninth-convocation State Duma, for senior officials in eight regions, as well as for deputies of legislative and local self-government bodies. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Sputnik Kazakhstan.

Where voting takes place

The first polling stations for the unified voting day opened in the Far East. Voters can cast their ballots at polling stations from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. local time.

Voting takes place over three days, from September 18 to 20. As reported by Ella Pamfilova, chairwoman of Russia's Central Election Commission, three-day voting provides an additional level of security for election participants, which is a priority for the CEC.

On the unified voting day in 2026, more than 2,200 election campaigns at various levels will be held, and 20,700 parliamentary seats and positions will be determined. Voters abroad can also cast ballots – 333 polling stations operate in 152 countries outside Russia. Among the observers are representatives of 12 international organizations from CIS, CSTO and BRICS countries.

Thousands of candidates

Ten parties are competing for seats in the State Duma: "United Russia", the "Liberal Democratic Party of Russia", the "Party of Direct Democracy", "The Greens", "A Just Russia", "Rodina", the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, the Pensioners' Party, "Communists of Russia" and "New People".

In total, they have nominated 4,500 candidates, more than 500 of whom took part in the special military operation. There are 450 deputy mandates. Half will be distributed among party lists that pass the 5% threshold, while the remaining winners will be determined in single-mandate districts.

Elections for the heads of 11 federal subjects will also be held. Direct elections will take place in Mordovia, Tuva, Chechnya and the Belgorod, Bryansk, Penza, Tver and Ulyanovsk regions, while in Dagestan, North Ossetia-Alania and Karachay-Cherkessia voting will be conducted through local parliaments. In addition, local legislative bodies will be determined in 39 regions.

Where and how

The number of voters is 111,037,047 people, of whom 1,816,504 are outside Russia. Also, 502 Russian citizens eligible to vote live in the city of Baikonur.

Remote electronic voting is provided in 32 regions. To do so, from August 3 to September 14, applicants had to fill out an application on the public services portal. Muscovites do not need prior registration. For those abroad, 333 polling stations have been opened in 152 countries.