LUGANSK, September 8. /TASS/. Almost 43% of voters in the Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) have voted in the region after the end of the first day of general voting, deputy chairwoman of the regional election commission Marianna Sumskaya said at a briefing.

"The first general voting day is over. Our voters are actively coming to the polls, they can also cast their votes at outdoor polling stations. By the end of the day, the turnout amounted to 42.74%," she said.

Candidates from five regional divisions of the parties that are active in the republic are vying for seats in the LPR parliament. Following a random draw, the parties are listed on the ballot in the following order: United Russia, the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR), A Just Russia - For the Truth, The New People Party and the Communist Party of the Russian Federation. In all, the regional divisions have nominated 338 candidates. Later, 14 of them withdrew their candidacies. The elections to the representative bodies of the republic’s municipal structures are also underway.

Russia’s nationwide Single Voting Day falls on September 10 in 2023. The LPR, the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) and the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions will participate in it for the first time since joining Russia. The DPR and LPR will also hold elections to their People’s Councils (parliaments). According to their constitutions, the heads of these two regions are elected by legislators.