Moscow 19 Sep (ANA) - Russia's ruling United Russia party cruised to an easy victory in parliamentary polls but a low turnout suggested a softening of enthusiasm for the ruling elite 18 months before the next presidential election. President Vladimir Putin's party had 54.2 percent of the vote after 90 percent of ballots were counted on Monday, data from the election commission showed. The Communist party was in second place with 13.5 percent of the vote, followed by the Liberal Democrats party on 13.3 percent and the Just Russia party on 6.2 percent, according to an incomplete vote count. The election for the 450-seat State Duma went smoothly for a government desperate to avoid a repeat of mass protests last time round and eager to increase their dominance as the country faces the longest economic crisis of Putin's rule. "We can announce already with certainty that the party secured a good result, that it won," Putin said after the vote. "The situation is tough and difficult but the people still voted for United Russia," he said on state television. Putin's aides are likely to use the result as a springboard for his campaign for re-election in 2018, though he has not yet confirmed that he will seek another term. Alluding to the spluttering economy, which is forecast to shrink this year by at least 0.3 percent, Putin said: "We know that life is hard for people, there are lots of problems, lots of unresolved problems. Nevertheless, we have this result." (ANA) 

FA/ANA/19 September 2016------