Duma elections: Putin casts online vote in Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly cast his vote in the 2026 State Duma election from his office in the Kremlin. According to Modern.az reports, the Russian leader participated remotely filling out an electronic ballot on a computer.

In this connection, Putin said: “ It's impossible to make a mistake" during the voting. After a few clicks, the notification "Thank you, you have successfully voted" appears on the screen. The Russian President then said, "Thank you.”

This marks the sixth time Putin has used the electronic voting method since first using the method in the 2021 State Duma elections.

Elections for the ninth convocation of the State Duma are taking place from September 18 to 20. Critics call the process tightly controlled with no real opposition after the anti-war Yabloko party was barred and expect Putin’s United Russia to dominate the 250-seat lower house.

European Commission spokesperson Christian Wigand said the way the elections are held underscores the continued and deepening erosion of democracy in Russia, and that the Kremlin deprives voters in Russia of a genuine choice about the future of their country.