Residents of Elista expressed their willingness to go to the elections

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The rise in prices was named among the main problems by the residents of Elista, who stated that they plan to participate in the elections on September 18-20. Protest-minded people are unlikely to go to the elections at all, believes the political scientist.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", in Kalmykia, there is one single-mandate district for the State Duma elections. The ballots for the single-mandate district included candidates from "United Russia", CPRF, LDPR, "Fair Russia – For Truth", "New People", and the "Pensioners' Party". Additional elections for deputies of the Elista City Assembly are also being held in single-mandate electoral districts.

Residents of Elista surveyed on September 15 by a correspondent of "Caucasian Knot" expressed the opinion that it is necessary to go to the elections for the State Duma. The survey is not representative and reflects only the private opinions of those surveyed.

Elza stated that she will go to the elections, and among the problems that concern her, she named the rise in prices first.

Another resident of Elista, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that she is still thinking about whether to go to the elections or not. "If we talk about the problems that concern us, it is the rise in prices, the increase in utility costs, and the problem of the lack of gasoline," she added.

Another two residents of Elista noted that they do not feel any problems and will go to vote.

The political scientist, who spoke with "Caucasian Knot" on the condition of anonymity, noted that protest-minded people are most likely not going to come to the elections. "I do not see such sentiments for mass voting for other parties besides United Russia. Calls from abroad regarding the elections are not working now. Firstly, most people simply do not hear these calls, and secondly, after the start of the special military operation, sentiments have changed, and we should not expect a repetition of the events of 2021," he stated.

The expert also emphasized that the CPRF will not be able to repeat its success in the Kalmykia elections from five years ago. "We have always had an electoral sultanate. In 2021, observers managed to cover all polling stations and prevent school directors from counting the votes. And now the elections will be conducted by the school directors, who will count as the authorities need," he concluded.

It should be noted that in 2021, in the elections for the federal district in Kalmykia, the votes of the voters were distributed as follows: 39.52% of voters voted for "United Russia", 25.97% for CPRF, 12.23% for "New People", and 5.86% for "Fair Russia". In Elista, 28.95% of voters voted for CPRF, and 26.66% for "United Russia".

Analysts surveyed by "Caucasian Knot" noted that voting in Kalmykia was essentially protest voting, influenced by a surge of protest activity after the appointment of Dmitry Trapeznikov as head of the Elista administration in 2019.

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