Marina Zakharova, the Russia-installed chair of the Kherson election commission, said Sunday that 65.36% of Kherson residents cast ballots in the election. In one of the annexed Ukrainian regions, Russian state media reported turnout was even higher. The figure includes Russia and the occupied Ukrainian regions. Russia’s Central Election Commission head Ella Pamfilova said the turnout, averaging 43.5%, was the highest since 2017. He won against candidates from other Kremlin-backed parties with more than 76% of the vote, according to the election commission.

In Moscow, United Russia received the most votes, returning Sergei Sobyanin as mayor. There were also multiple votes for city and municipal councils across the country and races for a few vacant seats in the State Duma, Russia’s lower house of parliament. The votes in the Ukrainian regions were timed to coincide with nationwide elections for local legislatures and governors across 16 Russian regions. On Friday, Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry urged other countries not to recognize the results of what it called “fake elections.” “We strongly reject this further futile attempt by Russia to legitimize or normalize its illegal military control and attempted annexation of parts of Ukrainian territories,” the European Commission said Monday in a statement, promising “consequences” for Russia’s leadership. Western countries have denounced the elections as a violation of international law. According to the Central Election Commission, lawmakers from the ruling party, United Russia, came out on top in the four Ukrainian regions Moscow annexed in 2022 - Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia - and on the Crimean Peninsula, which the Kremlin annexed in 2014. Voting for Russia-installed legislatures began last week. The votes were held as Russian authorities attempt to tighten their grip on territories Moscow illegally annexed a year ago and still does not fully control.

Russia’s Central Election Commission said Monday that the country’s ruling party won the most votes in elections held in occupied Ukrainian regions, as Kyiv and the West denounced the ballots as a sham.

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