“The quietest elections” in Crimea: local residents told how the voting is going

Russia is holding elections to the State Duma on September 18–20, 2026. Voting is also being held in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine — Crimea and the captured parts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia, and Kherson regions. Ukraine does not recognize these elections and their results.

In Russia itself, elections are held in conditions of limited political competition. A significant number of opposition politicians have been barred from participating in the elections. Some have left the country, while others have become subjects of administrative or criminal cases.

Ten parties were included in the federal ballot. The list of “Yabluk” was excluded. It was the only registered party with an open anti-war position. The elections are being held with the use of administrative resources and under the control of the Russian authorities over the media. There are no international observers.

In occupied Crimea, Russia is holding elections to the local parliament for the third time since 2014. This year’s campaign is almost imperceptible, said an interlocutor of the Public Crimea.

There are separate party billboards on the streets and campaigning on public transport. At the same time, Crimeans do not see any meetings between candidates and residents.

Local residents hardly discuss the elections. One of the interlocutors said that he does not plan to vote because he does not see the point in it. He does not believe that his vote will change anything.

According to him, members of election commissions go from apartment to apartment and invite people to vote.

At the same time, in some government agencies, schools, and businesses, employees may be forced to vote and have their completed ballots photographed.

The Crimean also spoke about the vote counting. According to him, this year automatic ballot boxes were installed at polling stations. They count the ballots themselves.

Amid the elections, residents of the peninsula are more concerned with everyday problems. Among them are the shortage of gasoline, rising prices, and problems with work. Crimeans are also discussing the possibility of a new mobilization in Russia.

Separately, the interlocutor drew attention to remote voting through “State Services”. He believes that the main problem of this format is the lack of anonymity.

It was previously reported that Russia has included the Ukrainian-controlled cities of Sloviansk, Kramatorsk, and Svyatogorsk in its electoral district for the Russian State Duma elections . Voting is scheduled for September 18-20.

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