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Added on the 18/09/2016 23:07:24 - Copyright : Reuters EN
The ruling United Russia party is expected to win even greater dominance over Russia's lower house in a parliamentary election, showing support for President Vladimir Putin is holding up despite sanctions and a deep economic slowdown. Angela Moore reports.
Russians vote in parliamentary polls, with parties loyal to President Vladimir Putin set to maintain their dominance as the Kremlin sought to make a show of eliminating vote fraud after mass opposition protests last time around.
EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell says that Russian President Vladimir Putin's electoral victory was "based on repression and intimidation". Speaking as he arrives for a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels, Borrell says "this has not been a free and fair election," but a vote held in a "highly restrictive environment." SOUNDBITE
A screen shown at a briefing by Russia's Central Election Commission shows the expected results of the four presidential election candidates. Incumbent president Vladimir Putin is expected to receive 87.85% of the vote, while Communist Party candidate Nikolay Kharitonov comes in at second with 3.86%, New People candidate Vladislav Davankov is projected to receive 3.76%, and far-right Liberal Democratic Party leader Leonid Slutsky is set to get 2.97%. IMAGES
On the last day of Russia's presidential elections, set to cement Vladimir Putin's grip on power, the widow of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny widow, Yulia Navalnaya, tells the press after voting at the Russian embassy in Berlin that Putin is "a killer" and a "gangster. Crowds had earlier chanted: "Yulia, Yulia, we're with you," as she entered to cast her ballot. Alexei Navalny was Putin's most prominent rival, and died in an Arctic prison last month in mysterious circumstances. SOUNDBITE
U.S. President Barack Obama attends an outdoor arrival ceremony in heavy rain, as the first sitting U.S. president to visit Laos. Rough Cut (no reporter narration).