European Parliament Brands Russian Duma Vote a ‘Sham’

The European Parliament has issued a formal condemnation of Russia’s State Duma elections, explicitly labeling the entire electoral process a complete sham. In a stance published from Strasbourg, European lawmakers rejected the legitimacy of the vote, signaling that the assembly will not view the resulting legislature as a democratically constituted body.

While the European Parliament cannot single-handedly dictate foreign policy to the 27 member states, its resolutions set the baseline for official European posture. For citizens, this means EU representatives will refuse normal diplomatic relations, formal legislative exchanges, or joint parliamentary committees with the newly announced Russian Duma, reinforcing isolation measures at the official level.

In the European capital, parliamentary resolutions of this kind serve a precise institutional function. When the Council—where national governments sit—moves cautiously due to diplomatic sensitivities, Parliament uses plenary votes to apply public leverage. Declaring an election a sham allows MEPs to state plainly what executive diplomats often phrase in delicate legalese, effectively nudging the EU's diplomatic arm toward a harder diplomatic line.

The text will be forwarded to the European Commission, the Council of the EU, and international partners. Though Moscow routinely ignores Strasbourg’s declarations, the vote ensures that any future diplomatic outreach from EU institutions toward the State Duma remains politically off-limits.