United Russia wins elections in Russia’s western Arctic
The United Russia wins 39,3 percent of the votes in regional parliament elections in Murmansk, a significant increase compared with results from 2011. The margins are smaller in neighboring Karelia.
Figures from the Murmansk regional Election Commission show that Russia’s chief party got 39,29 percent of the votes, a six percentage point increase from the last regional duma elections in 2011. Back then, United Russia won 33,2 percent of the votes.
The result is slightly weaker than for the State Duma election, where the party got 42,4 percent of the votes in Murmansk. The two elections were held at the same time yesterday, 18th September.
With the result, United Russia gets nine of the seats in the regional parliament. In addition, the party has won all the 17 single-mandate constituencies, Bloger51 reports.
Result breakdown by region
That gives the party a total of 26 seats, an overwhelming level of control in the 36-seat assembly. The remaining ten seats will be divided by the Liberal Democratic Party, the Communist Party and the A Just Russia party, which in the election won respectively 21,05 percent, 12,08 percent and 10,28 percent.
The liberal party Yabloko in Murmansk only got 2,88 percent of the votes and will not be represented in the regional assembly.
In neighboring Karelia, however, the Yabloko does far better. The party got 9,89 percent of the votes to the regional parliament and is likely to get at least two seats. The Karelian regional vote was won by United Russia with 33,20 percent, followed by the LDPR (18,91%), A Just Russia Party (15,54%) and the Communist Party (14,44%), figures from the regjonal election commission show.
Like in Murmansk, Karelia yesterday held both State Duma elections and regional parliament elections.
Related stories from around the North:
Canada: Trudeau and Obama’s Arctic endeavours, Deutsche Welle’s Ice-Blogger
Finland: UN rep. urges suspension of Sámi elections, Yle News
Greenland: Greenland, Alaska elections bolster Arctic resource extraction, Blog by Mia Bennett
Iceland: Meet Eliza Reid – Iceland’s Canadian first lady, Radio Canada International
Russia: Irregularities in Murmansk, Russia primaries, The Independent Barents Observer
Sweden: Land, water rights big issues in Sweden’s Sami elections, Radio Sweden
