Voice messages: the results of EDG-2025 outlined the intrigues of the future Duma campaign

In Russia, the winners of the gubernatorial elections in 20 regions have been announced. The current heads of the subjects remained in their posts, said the head of the Central Election Commission, Ella Pamfilova. The vote recorded the overwhelming superiority of United Russia: The party's rivals have achieved isolated successes in municipal elections — for example, a candidate of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation became mayor of Chernogorsk in Khakassia, and a representative of the New People became mayor of Pokrovsk in Yakutia. Experts believe that in 2026, the public demand may shift from the topic of freedom to the social agenda, which will clearly exacerbate the struggle between the opposition parties fighting for second place. About the results of the EDG-2025 and the prospects for the elections to the State Duma-2026 — in the material of Izvestia.

Who won the governorships in 20 regions

All the current heads of regions won the last gubernatorial elections in 20 regions of the Russian Federation, said the head of the Central Election Commission Ella Pamfilova. Also, by September 15, the results of voting in local parliaments and municipal authorities were summed up. From September 12 to September 14, 26 million Russians cast their votes in 81 regions of the Russian Federation, and the turnout was about 47%, which is 8% higher than, for example, during the EDG in 2022.

Online voting took place in 24 regions, where more than 1.5 million out of 1.7 million applicants voted. According to Pamfilova, this year electronic voting took place in uncomfortable conditions amid problems with communication and the Internet. The DEG system was also able to repel 700 hacker attacks, and the CEC website — 500 thousand. All these attempts had no effect on the course of the electoral process.

— Let me sum up the preliminary results of the last single voting day, which ended yesterday in elections at all levels. To our great satisfaction, there were no excesses that could affect the voting results," Ella Pamfilova said.

The CEC of the Russian Federation received 12 appeals about coercion to vote, but none of them was confirmed. The election commission received more than 1.6 thousand appeals, 312 of them contained complaints about violations of the law — the head of the Central Election Commission promised to consider them. Also, 908 ballots were declared invalid at 20 polling stations.

The winners in the governor's race that ended were: Rostislav Goldstein in Komi, Oleg Nikolaev in Chuvashia, Rustam Minnikhanov in Tatarstan, Vladimir Solodov in Kamchatka, Mikhail Razvozhaev in Sevastopol, Veniamin Kondratiev in Krasnodar Krai, Dmitry Makhonin in Perm Krai, Alexander Tsybulsky in Arkhangelsk Oblast, Alexander Bogomaz in Bryansk, Vladislav Shapsha in Kaluga, Sergey Sitnikov in Kostroma Alexander Khinstein — in Kursk, Alexander Drozdenko — in Leningrad, Alexander Dronov — in Novgorod, Yuri Slyusar — in Rostov, Evgeny Pervyshov — in Tambov, Evgeny Solntsev — in Orenburg, Denis Pasler — in Sverdlovsk, Igor Kobzev — in Irkutsk and, finally, Maria Kostyuk in the Jewish Autonomous Region.

All the winners were candidates from United Russia, with the exception of self-nominated Oleg Nikolaev, whom Vladimir Putin appointed acting head of Chuvashia in January 2020. Indirect elections were also held in the Nenets Autonomous Okrug (NAO), where deputies of the legislative Assembly elected Irina Gekht as governor.

The most revealing, according to experts, were the election results in the Irkutsk region and the Eastern Administrative District. The gubernatorial race in the first region turned out to be the most competitive campaign in the country. The current head of the region, Igor Kobzev (received over 60% of the vote), confidently defeated his opponent from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, ex—governor of the Irkutsk Region Sergey Levchenko, who scored more than 22%. For the first time in more than 20 years, the governor of this region was elected for a second term, Ruslan Andreev, an expert at the Polylogue Group and a political strategist, recalled in an interview with Izvestia.

At the same time, the turnout in the Irkutsk region was low — about 31%. Most Russians came to cast their vote in the EAO, where the turnout reached a record 74%. The winner of the race here was the only female candidate, Maria Kostyuk.

— People supported their countryman, the president and the program of the future development of the region. This example of involving residents in political life should be adopted by other regional administrations, Ruslan Andreev believes.

Which parties have been elected to regional parliaments

Elections to local legislative assemblies were held in 11 regions of the Russian Federation, and in another 25 cities Russians elected deputies to municipal authorities. United Russia has managed to strengthen its position in a number of regions, according to a report by the Agency for Political and Economic Communications (APEC), which was reviewed by Izvestia.

The EP placed special emphasis on everyday issues in small regions, as, for example, in the case of problems in the field of modernization of post offices in rural and hard-to-reach areas, which was emphasized by Secretary of the General Council Vladimir Yakushev.

"The party leadership has made a serious bet on working with key industrial centers and interacting with labor collectives. Thus, the program of Vladimir Yakushev's working trips during the spring and summer of 2025 included the enterprises Kaluga Engines, Kurganpribor, Kupol (Izhevsk), and Pharmasynthesis (Irkutsk)," the APEC report notes.

A stubborn struggle unfolded for the second place between the Liberal Democratic Party and the Communist Party of the Russian Federation. According to the VTsIOM rating from the end of August, the Liberal Democrats were slightly ahead of the Communists, which was confirmed in the elections. The Liberal Democratic Party has strengthened its position in a number of regions, where the leadership of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation was more confident during the 2020 election campaigns. For example, in the Kostroma, Kaluga and Voronezh regions, APEC experts noted.

Nevertheless, the Communists still achieved a single success at the municipal level. Elena Gopina, a member of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, won the election of mayor of Chernogorsk in Khakassia.

In the future, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation will seek to "strengthen its influence on the voters of large cities, in many positions, acting as an opponent of the ultraconservative and "prohibitive" agenda," APEC experts say. Under these conditions, the potential for growing support for the Communist Party on the protest flank may be slightly higher than that of the Liberal Democratic Party, but the selection of key public figures in the campaign of both parties will be important, experts believe.

The young New People party has also achieved some success. In particular, Viktor Konstantinov, a member of the party, became the mayor of Pokrovsk in Yakutia, who received twice as many votes as his opponent from the EP. The deputies of the National Assembly were also able to obtain mandates in those regions where the party had not been represented before, Ruslan Andreev notes. Its candidates, having overcome the 5% barrier, went to eight regional parliaments out of nine where party lists were registered. The majority of the NL votes were taken in the Chelyabinsk region (8%).

The candidates of the Pensioners' Party for Social Justice, who imposed a competitive struggle on the Just Russia — Patriots — For Truth (SRDP) party, performed well. The first ones were held in five out of eight regions, showing the best result in the Kostroma region (7%). The latter crossed the threshold of 5% in eight regions, with a special mention in the Chelyabinsk Region (13%). Such results open up additional intrigue for the 2026 State Duma elections, Andreev stressed. At the same time, EDG-2025 also showed the weakening of some non-parliamentary players. For example, the Yabloko party failed to overcome the 5% barrier and did not get into the Tomsk Duma.

The CEC reported that preparations for the State Duma elections to be held in 2026 will begin as early as September 16.

— We are actively preparing, systematically preparing for the parliamentary elections of 2026, which will be held in September next year. We definitely don't expect them to be simple," Pamfilova clarified.

Experts predict that in 2026, the attention of the general audience will shift from the topic of ITS own to social issues. "There is an obvious increase in fatigue from ultraconservative slogans," the APEC report says. This will increase competition on the opposition flank for the social agenda, including complicating the situation of the SRDP, which has a smaller electoral core and, probably, increasing the attention of the Communist Party and the Liberal Democratic Party to the regions where they traditionally have the most active competition.