Russian President Vladimir Putin (2nd R) walks to vote at a polling station in Moscow, capital of Russia, Dec. 2, 2007. [Xinhua]
 
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday the weekend's parliamentary elections were a demonstration¹ of confidence in his rule.

"I want to thank Russian citizens, all voters, for a high turnout...Special thanks to those who voted for United Russia which I lead, this is an indication of trust," he was quoted as saying by media reports.

The election results reflected people's confidence in the rule of United Russia, Putin said.

"It's a good example and a good indication of Russia's internal political stability," he added.

Election results showed that United Russia had attracted 64.1 percent of the vote and secured 315 seats, an overwhelming constitutional majority, in the 450-seat State Duma, the lower house of parliament. But the election has been criticized by international monitors, foreign governments and some opposition² parties, who claim there was biased³ media coverage⁴ in the run-up to the election.

Prior to the elections, Putin made a television address asking eligible⁵ voters to cast ballots⁶ for United Russia to stick to the development path on which he has set the nation.

Some 63 percent of the 108 million eligible voters took part in the elections.

俄罗斯总统普京于本周一称，上周末国家杜马选举的结果体现了民众对他的信任。

媒体援引普京的话说：“我要感谢俄罗斯人民和所有选民对我的大力支持。……也特别感谢大家对我领导的统一俄罗斯党的支持。这体现了大家对我们的信任。”

普京说，统一俄罗斯党在这次选举中大获全胜，这说明统一俄罗斯党的治国方针得到人民的支持和信任。

他说：“选举结果充分体现了俄罗斯国内政局的稳定。”

选举结果显示，统一俄罗斯党得到了64.1%的选票，在新一届国家杜马（下议院）的450个席位中占据了315个席位，已获得宪法规定的多数席位。但俄罗斯此次杜马选举遭到了国际观察家、外国政府和一些反对党的批评，他们声称选举之前的媒体报道有失公正。

普京总统在选举之前发表了一个电视讲话，呼吁选民支持统一俄罗斯党，以保证“普京路线”得以延续。

俄罗斯此次杜马选举的合法选民达到1.08亿人，约63%的选民参与了投票。