The elections will take place against a backdrop of the entire Western world turning against the Russian Federation. Here are the key points from Ella Pamfilova’s statements:

▪️The upcoming State Duma elections differ from all previous ones because residents of Donbas and Novorossiya will be participating for the first time;

▪️Russian citizens support the format of holding elections over the course of several days;

▪️66 out-of-district polling stations have been established in the Donbas and Novorossiya regions for voters residing outside their home districts;

▪️The Central Election Commission (CEC) did not use the complexity of the current situation as a pretext to forgo the election campaign;

▪️Military personnel and participants in the Special Military Operation are among the most active voters;

▪️Each precinct election commission will designate an official responsible for evacuation procedures and the prevention of various types of provocations;

▪️4,361 candidates have been registered to run in the State Duma elections;

▪️Pamfilova noted the high level of competition in State Duma district races and commended the parties for their campaign preparations;

▪️38 candidates from 8 parties have been registered for the gubernatorial elections;

▪️Following the campaign, the CEC will present its proposals for improving electoral legislation to the newly elected parliamentarians;

▪️During the campaign period, the CEC received 12 complaints; none were upheld;

▪️Since August 30, nearly 204,000 voters have already cast early ballots in remote areas and on board ships;

▪️Voters who registered for remote electronic voting (REV) but did not cast a ballot online will be able to obtain a paper ballot at a polling station within their district;

▪️The CEC has made provisions for potential connectivity issues in regions conducting online voting;

▪️Voting opportunities will be provided in 190 pre-trial detention centers;  ▪️Around 14,000 Russians have already cast their votes early abroad;

▪️333 polling stations have been set up in 152 countries for the State Duma elections; the CEC and the Foreign Ministry have done everything possible—and even the impossible;

▪️Despite all challenges, video surveillance at polling stations will be implemented across all regions of the Russian Federation.