Four parties will enter Russia’s State Duma

Four parties have breached the 7% threshold required to qualify for seats in the State Duma in Sunday's election. According to the chairman of Russia’s Central Election Commission Vladimir Churov, quoted by the Russian media, the United Russia Party of President Vladimir Putin polled 64.1% of the vote after nearly 98% of ballots have been counted. The United Russia is followed by the Communist Party with 11.6%, the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia with 8.2% and A Fair Russia Party with 7.8% of the poll. According to estimates, the United Russia will hold a constitutional majority of at least 300 seats in Russia’s 450-seat Duma. The Communists will occupy 50-60 seats, while the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia and A Fair Russia by 40-45 seats. The turnout among Russia's 109 million voters had been 63%. The final result of the December 2 poll will be announced on December 7-8.