Russian Embassy holds legislative election voting in Indonesia

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Russian Embassy in Jakarta has organised legislative elections for members of the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian Parliament, with polling stations opened in Jakarta and Denpasar.

According to the Russian Ambassador to Indonesia, Sergei Tolchenov, who is also currently serving as the chairman of the election commission in Indonesia, this election represents the most important political agenda in his country.

“This year marks the most important domestic political agenda in Russia, as this election will determine the political map in the upcoming parliament,” Tolchenlar said when met by journalists at the Russian Embassy in Jakarta on Sunday.

The Ambassador stated that they expect up to 500 Russian citizens to vote at the Jakarta polling station, though this number remains dynamic as they do not require re-registration to vote and there is no obligation for them to participate.

However, Tolchenov acknowledged that the number of voters at the Denpasar polling station is expected to be much larger than in Jakarta, given that 98 per cent of the approximately 40,000 Russian citizens in Indonesia reside in Bali.

He explained that Russian citizens in Indonesia can exercise their right to vote by visiting the polling stations at the consular section of the Russian Embassy in Jakarta and at the Russian Consulate General in Denpasar.

Polling stations for the Russian election will be open on Sunday for a full 12 hours, from 08:00 to 20:00 local time, he added.

The Russian Ambassador said that once the polling stations close, the vote counting will take place immediately. The results of the vote recapitulation will first be approved by the election commission before being processed in Russia, he noted.

With this procedure, it is expected that the results of the general election, including votes from abroad, can be known as early as tomorrow, said Tolchenov.

It is noted that the legislative elections for members of the lower house of the Russian Parliament, held concurrently with regional head elections and regional legislative elections, will take place over three days from 18–20 September 2026.

Russian voters can choose candidates from 11 political parties participating in the election. According to Sputnik, there are a total of 20,700 legislative seats and regional leaders to be elected in this election cycle.