MOSCOW, August 9. /TASS/. Representatives from 23 out of 25 parties have been put on the ballot for the September 10 elections, with a total of 125 candidates being nominated, and 94 of those belonging to political parties, the head of the Central Election Commission (CEC) Ella Pamfilova said.

"Of the 23 parties that have nominated their candidates, representatives of 21 parties have been registered. This is a good indicator. This is more than 90%. The total number of refusals to register will be known after August 17," Pamfilova said, adding that the final number of refusals will, in her opinion, be "rather small."

Election of top officials

Speaking about the election of top officials, Pamfilova also pointed out that candidates were not refusing to be put on the ballot. "A total of 125 candidates were nominated for the elections of top officials, 94 candidates from political parties were put on the ballot, two candidates refused, and 29 people were dropped from the ballot," she said.

Pamfilova said that 19 of the 29 people were nominated by political parties and the rest were self-nominated. Of the total number, 25 candidates simply did not submit the necessary documents, and three people refused to throw their name in the ring.

The largest number of candidates for the elections of top officials are registered in the Altay Region: six people. "The average competition in the elections is 4.5 candidates per seat, for the last 7 years it has been about the same number; there is no particular downward trend," Pamfilova said.

Russia’s Unified Election Day falls on September 10. The Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) and Lugansk People’s Republics (LPR), as well as the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions, will take part in the nationwide voting for the first time since joining the Russian Federation. More than 4,000 election campaigns for various public offices are expected to take place across Russia’s 89 regions. As many as 21 regions will hold direct elections of top officials and 20 regions will vote on members of local legislative assemblies. The future holders of over 34,000 political offices will be determined.