Russians vote in parliamentary elections

Voting got underway at 8 a.m. across Russia's 11 time zones on Sunday, with United Russia expected to hold on to power in the Duma, the country's lower house of parliament.

The election to decide who fills the chamber's 450 seats is the first poll since Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean peninsula in early 2014. That means residents of the Black Sea territory were for the first time counted among Russia's 110 million registered voters.

Since the annexation, Russia has plunged into economic recession compounded by Western sanctions and low oil prices. Observers say that while the Crimea issue isn't likely to affect voters, the financial problems that came in its wake could have an impact.

"Domestic concerns will influence the elections. United Russia vote totals are expected to be under 50 per cent," political analyst Vladimir Frolov told the German Press Agency.

United Russia, led by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, has 238 of 450 Duma seats and dominates the more than 80 regional parliaments. The party also benefits from its association with 63-year-old President Vladimir Putin, who enjoys a personal approval rating of about 80 percent. A strong performance by his loyalists in Sunday's vote could pave the way for his re-election in presidential polls in 2018.

Declining support

While pro-Kremlin United Russia is expected to garner the largest share of the vote, polls show the party's popularity has waned in recent months. According to Russia's largest independent pollster, Levada Center, its support dropped from 39 percent in August to 31 percent in September.

The other three parties in the lower house - the Communist Party, the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia and A Just Russia - are also expected to win seats.

Allegations of vote rigging in the last parliamentary poll in 2011 sparked street protests against Putin. Keen to avoid a repeat of that unrest, Kremlin officials have sought to assure the public the vote will be clean and fair.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) will be monitoring the elections throughout the country - except in Crimea, which they consider an illegally seized part of Ukraine.

The first exit polls are due at 1800 UTC on Sunday.

nm/rc (AFP, Reuters, dpa)