India, Sept. 21 -- Russia's ruling United Russia party, which backs President Vladimir Putin, has secured an overwhelming victory in the country's first parliamentary elections since the start of the war in Ukraine, with the party on track to win with 57.5% of the vote according to initial Central Election Commission data.

The outcome represents a continuation of uninterrupted United Russia dominance stretching back nearly two decades, yet the context of wartime governance and the systematic exclusion of genuine opposition parties has prompted accusations from international observers regarding the validity of democratic procedure in Russia's electoral process.

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