Russian President Vladimir Putin's United Russia has won a majority of the vote in national elections for the Duma, or lower house of parliament. With 95 percent of the votes counted, United Russia has 54.2 percent, with the Communist Party in a distant second with 13.5 percent, the Liberal Democratic Party with 13.3 percent, and the Fair Russia Party at 6.2 percent, according to the Russian Central Elections Committee. Some 48 percent of eligible voters participated in the election, including 35 percent of voters in Moscow, Russia's RT reports. In the last parliamentary election in 2011, United Russia won 49 percent of the vote, and analysts said Putin's personal popularity helped his party despite the lagging economy. Putin has been president or prime minister for 17 straight years and is expected to seek re-election in 2018.
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