1st LD: Putin's party expected to win in parliament election

Russia's ruling United Russia party backed by President Vladimir Putin has reportedly won 54.28 percent of votes with 93.1 percent of all votes counted in the Russian parliamentary election.

"Of course, there may be small adjustments, but in general the opinion of the CEC is that we cannot expect fundamental changes," Ella Panfilova, chairperson of the Central Elections Commission (CEC), said Monday at a press conference broadcast live by the Russian TV.

On Sunday's election for the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament, United Russia has won 343 of its 450 seats, paving the way for a possible fourth presidential term for Putin in 2018.

"We can announce already with certainty that the party secured a good result, that it won," Putin said after the poll was over.

The Communist Party came the second with 13.45 percent of the votes, the Liberal Democrats party garnered 13.24 percent, and Just Russia won 6.18 percent, said Panfilova.

No other party has managed to overcome the five percent threshold necessary to obtain entry into the State Duma on the party ticket, she added.

However, the voter turnout nationwide is estimated at a modest 47.81 percent with over 111 million voters, showing people's lack of interest amid economic difficulty, especially after the Western sanction against Russia over Ukraine.

Founded by Putin in December 2001, United Russia is Russia's dominant party with more than two million members across the country. Endi