Parliamentary elections starts in Russia

The three-day voting process in the Russian parliamentary elections has started, Russian media reports.

The first polling stations were opened in Kamchatka and Chukotka.

Elections will be held for three days: from 17 to 19 September. The lower house is elected with a mixed system for a 5-year term: 225 deputies - according to party lists, and the remaining 225 - from single-member constituencies.

14 political parties are running in the elections. To enter parliament, a party must cross the 5% threshold.

It should be noted that the OSCE did not send an observation mission to Russia. Russian authorities imposed restrictions on the number of international observers monitoring the elections under the pretext of the coronavirus pandemic, after which the OSCE refused to send observers. The head of the organisation's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, explained that it was crucial for them to determine the required number of observers independently.