08.03.2006 - Source: US Department of State

According to OSCE, the parliamentary elections failed to satisfy a number of international criteria for democratic elections ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2005") [#46144],  [ID 11100]

"In the 2003 parliamentary elections, opposition parties were allegedly hampered in their ability to obtain funding because of fears among potential donors elicited by the investigation and arrest of Yukos CEO Mikhail Khodorkovskiy, a step widely believed to have been prompted, at least in part, by the considerable financial support he provided to opposition groups. The progovernment forces, in contrast, drew heavily on "administrative" resources, using the power and influence of regional and local officials to maximize media coverage and campaign financing. In addition, in some instances local electoral commissions appeared to use it selectively to disqualify local opposition State Duma candidates, leading to a small number of questionable disqualifications. As a result, as noted by the OSCE, the parliamentary elections failed to satisfy a number of international criteria for democratic elections."

Document(s): Open document

08.2005 - Source: Freedom House

Kremlin’s Unity Party won over two-thirds of the Duma seats; most of the remaining seats were captured by parties also promoted by the Kremlin-controlled media ("Freedom in the World 2005") [#41473],  [ID 11101]

"Russians cannot change their government democratically, particularly in light of the state’s far-reaching control of broadcast media and the growing harassment of opposition parties and their financial backers. In the parliamentary elections of December 2003, more than two-thirds of seats in the Duma were won by the Kremlin’s Unity Party, while most of the remaining seats were captured by parties promoted by the Kremlin-controlled media. There was significant evidence that there had been an undercount in the vote for liberal opposition parties that kept them from attaining the 5 percent threshold required for parliamentary representation. The leader of the third largest legislative party, Motherland (Rodina), backed President Vladimir Putin in the March 2004 presidential race. The Liberal Democratic Party, the fourth largest group in the Duma, is an ultranationalist faction known for the long-standing ties of its leaders to intelligence circles. The Communists are the sole party in the legislature generally free of Kremlin influence."

Document(s): Open document

03.06.2005 - Source: Council of Europe - Parliamentary Assembly

While improvments in the conduct of the parliamentary elections, progress towards democracy had slowed down; elections considered as free but not fair ("Honouring of obligations and commitments by the Russian Federation [Doc. 10568]") [#32710],  [ID 11102]

"95. Two important elections have been held in the Russian Federation since the last full monitoring report in 2002. On 7 December 2003 the elections to the lower house of the Russian parliament – the State Duma – were carried out. On 14 March 2004, the incumbent president Vladimir Putin overwhelmingly won the presidential contest. Both these elections were observed by Assembly delegations, which strongly criticised biased media coverage and the use of administrative resources in favour of President Putin and his political allies.

December 2003 parliamentary elections

96. The international team observing the parliamentary elections welcomed improvements in the conduct of the elections in line with the Assembly recommendations fours years ago, but expressed concern at the unfair practices, which benefited one party. In the observers' view the 2003 Duma elections indicated that Russia's progress towards democracy had slowed down. They concluded that multiparty democracy existed in Russia and that the elections could be considered as free46, but certainly not fair.

97. The observers agreed with the findings of the pre-electoral mission which considered that although newspapers seemed to provide a wide choice of opinion, the three TV stations with nationwide coverage were all government-controlled and had failed to demonstrate impartiality in political reporting. In the longer perspective, the observer mission considered that this kind of problems could only be solved through putting in place an independent system of "public service broadcasting" that would be free of State influence and control and not subject to manipulation by other vested interests47."

Document(s): Open document

27.01.2004 - Source: Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe

Final Report on Elections to the State Duma (legislative framework, election administration, media, complaints and appeals, participation of women, minorities, election results) ("Elections to the State Duma 7 December 2003 - OSCE/ODIHR Final Report") [#19122],  [ID 11103]

Document(s): Open document

13.01.2004 - Source: Konrad Adenauer Stiftung

Report on the results of the 7.December 2003 elections (German) ("Wahlen in Russland - mit Blick auf St. Petersburg") [#19098],  [ID 11104]

"Seit dem 19. Dezember steht nunmehr das amtliche Endergebnis fest. Die Wahlbeteiligung lag für ganz Russland bei 56%. Eindeutiger Gewinner der Wahl mit 37,40% ist die Putin-Partei Jedinaja Rossija, weit abgeschlagen folgt die KPRF als zweitstärkste Partei mit 12,65%. Verlierer ist zum einen die KPRF mit nur der Hälfte ihres Stimmenanteils im Vergleich zur Wahl 1999, zum anderen sind es die beiden liberalen Parteien Jabloko und SPS, die den Einzug ins Parlament nicht schafften.

Der prozentuale Stimmenanteil für die wichtigsten Parteien stellt sich wie folgt dar:

"Jedinaja Rossija" 37,40%
KPRF 12,65%
LDPR 11,49%
"Rodina" 9,04%
"Jabloko" 4,32%
SPS 3,97%
"Agrarpartei" 3,7%
"Russische Partei der Rentner" 3,1%

Gegen alle Parteien haben 4,72% der Wähler gestimmt, hierfür gab es im übrigen ein Sonderfeld auf dem Stimmzettel, was man nur anzukreuzen brauchte.
Zusammen mit den Direktmandaten sieht die Sitzverteilung in der neuen Duma folgendermaßen aus:

"Jedinaja Rossija" 226 Sitze
KPRF 53 Sitze
LDPR 38 Sitze
"Rodina" 37 Sitze
"Volkspartei" 19 Sitze
"Partei der Erneuerung Russlands - Russische Partei des Lebens" 3 Sitze
SPS 3 Sitze
"Jabloko" 4 Sitze
"Agrarpartei" 3 Sitze
"Großrußland - Eurasische Union" 1 Sitz
"Neuer Kurs - Automobiles Russland" 1 Sitz
Partei "Entwicklung des Unternehmertums" 1 Sitze
"Russische Partei der Rentner" 1 Sitze
Unabhängige 57 Sitze

Die Partei "Jedinaja Rossija" kann mit der Unterstützung der LDPR und "Rodina" rechnen und erreicht damit eine 2/3-Mehrheit im Parlament. Die westlich orientierte demokratische Opposition dagegen wurde marginalisiert, die Sympathien eines großen Teils der russischen Intelligenzija sind offensichtlich zu "Jedinaja Rossija", aber auch zum Block "Rodina" abgewandert.

Der russische Wähler orientiert sich nach diesen Ergebnissen nicht mehr hin zu Parteienvielfalt und demokratischer Streitkultur, sondern klar zur Macht in Person eines allmächtigen Kreml-Chefs. Die meisten Russen finden es absolut in Ordnung, wenn der Staat bzw. der Geheimdienst mit rigiden Methoden gegen die verhassten Oligarchen vorgeht. Mit dem Wegfall von Jabloko und SPS geht ein Stück politischer Kultur in Russland verloren, der Aufbau einer Zivilgesellschaft könnte dadurch Rückschläge erfahren. Und wer fordert in Zukunft noch eine politische Friedenslösung für den Tschetschenien-Krieg?

Landesweit und insbesondere in den traditionell europäisch orientierten Regionen um St. Petersburg könnte der Druck des Kremls auf die Liberalen zunehmen, im Nordwesten Russlands sind Jabloko und SPS nunmehr nur noch in St. Petersburg und Kaliningrad mit Fraktionen in den Gebietsparlamenten vertreten."

Document(s): Open document

11.12.2003 - Source: Institute for War and Peace Reporting

The pro-Kremlin movement United Russia victorious on parliamentary elections in The North Caucasus, but allegations of vote-rigging and bribery remain ("North Caucasus: United Russia Has The Power") [#18166],  [ID 11105]

Document(s): Open document

09.12.2003 - Source: Washington Post

Vladimir Putin's United Russia won a decisive victory in parliamentary elections/ it will hold between 223 and 229 of the 450 seats in the lower house of parliament, known as the State Duma ("Vote Leaves Putin's Rivals on the Sidelines") [#18119],  [ID 11106]

Document(s): Open document

08.12.2003 - Source: BBC News

Report on the results of the parliamentary elections held on Sunday, December 7: the pro-Kremlin United Russia Party leads with almost 37% ("Pro-Putin party triumphs in poll") [#18074],  [ID 11107]

Document(s): Open document