Putin and the United Russia Party overcome the barrier of trust

(Baonghean) - By the end of September 19, with nearly 96% of the votes counted, the United Russia party had won more than 54% of the votes in the election for the State Duma, the 7th Russian House of Representatives, far surpassing the second-placed party, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation.

With this result, President Putin's party won 343 seats in the 450-member parliament. Taking place in the context of Russia facing many difficulties, the ruling party's achievement of such results shows that President Putin and the United Russia party have passed the test of people's trust.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his United Russia party still enjoy the trust of the people (Source: Sputnik)

Convincing victory

Considered the largest election in modern Russian history, the 7th Russian State Duma election is considered not only a test of confidence for the United Russia (UR) party but also for President Vladimir Putin personally.

450 deputies of the House of Representatives were elected on this occasion under the mixed system that was applied in the 2003 election. Accordingly, half of the deputies, or 225 seats, were elected according to the party list, and the remaining 225 seats were elected according to the constituency. The recent majority of seats shows that the United Russia Party and President Putin have won a convincing victory. There are many reasons for this victory.

The United Russia Party won the 7th Russian State Duma (Lower House) election (Source: Sputnik)

First, the election rules this time have returned to the previous electoral system. This provision is considered a rare opportunity for opposition candidates to speak out, as hundreds of Kremlin critics are allowed to run. Compared to the past, most opposition candidates were prevented from participating from the beginning. According to observers, President Putin's administration wants to create the impression that this is a free and fair election according to international standards. And Mr. Putin has done it!

Second, a Russia that is establishing an important role in hot issues such as Syria or Ukraine is also the reason why the Russian people continue to put their trust in President Putin's ruling party. In addition, taking place in the context of Russia facing many economic difficulties due to sanctions from the US and the West, this result shows that the Russian people still want a stable Russia and want to trust the government's policies. With this result, the two Russian leaders, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and President Vladimir Putin, can confidently carry out the goal of quickly reviving Russia, which was seriously weakened in the early 90s of the last century.

Many challenges remain

However, it is undeniable that the economic difficulties have also made the results of this election quite modest compared to the overwhelming number of votes in the 2007 election. In addition, the rate of support for the ruling party in Russia has decreased significantly in recent times. According to the results of a public opinion poll recently published by the All-Russian Center for Public Opinion Research, the United Russia party, although leading, only received 41.1% of the votes.

It can be said that Russia is entering the third year of a prolonged economic recession, which has caused voters to change their minds. In fact, in 2015, Russia's gross domestic product (GDP) decreased by 3.7% and is forecast to decrease by another 1.9% this year. The main reason is still the sharp decline in oil and gas prices.

From right to left: Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Prime Minister and Chairman of the United Russia party Dmitry Medvedev at the party's election campaign headquarters on September 18, 2016 (Source: Sputnik)

Meanwhile, Western sanctions are still having a strong impact on the Russian economy. According to statistics, in the period 2014 - 2017, Russia lost about 600 billion USD due to these reasons. Therefore, the victory of the Russian ruling party this time can be said to be not the final result, but rather opening a new difficult path for President Putin's government.

How to steer Russia out of its economic difficulties and into a new stable orbit is the surest vote for the United Russia party at this time.

Another challenge is the difficulties in relations with Ukraine and the US after the election in Russia. It is worth mentioning that the election involved the people of Crimea after the peninsula was annexed by Russia more than 2 years ago. The US and Ukraine have both voiced their opposition and affirmed that they do not recognize the legitimacy of the election in Crimea.

Certainly, Russia’s use of the legal results on the Crimean peninsula will be a factor that stimulates the inherent conflicts with the US and Ukraine. Obviously, increased friction with these two countries will somewhat slow down the process of resolving the Ukrainian issue as well as the hot issues involving both Russia and the US.

There are many challenges both inside and outside. It can be said that these will be the difficulties that the ruling party of the United Russia and President Putin will have to overcome in the coming time.

Phuong Hoa