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The 2028 Mari El elections were held on January 5th, 2028 to elect the Head of the Republic along with members of the State Durma, these were the first elections in the Republic since 2017 and were considered to be among the first free elections in Russia. Opposition Parties gained a majority in the State Durma and Iris Polonian defeated incumbent Head of the Republic Yury Zaitsev by a singular vote.
Head of the Republic election[]
State Durma member Iris Polonian narrowly defeated incumbent head Yury Zaitsev by a margin of a single vote, this election was heavily contested and subject to several legal battles. The result however remained the same despite a total of eight recounts.
A total of 18 candidates filed, but all other opposition to Zaitsev dropped out to endorse Polonian in order to prevent the election from going into a second round, where federal authorities would be able to tamper with results.
Polonian's campaign focused on Russian Democracy, Mari people's rights, and Anti-Corruption while Zaitsev ran on a right-wing populist platform with staunch support of Moscow. She also attacked Zaitsev with the fact that he was from Moscow, and has no relation to the Republic.
Candidates[]
- Iris Polonian, Member of the State Durma (2025-) and Journalist
- Yury Zaitsev, Incumbent Head of the Republic (2022-) and Chairman of Kalmykia (2019-2022)
Withdrawn[]
- Dimitriy Chernikov, Leader of Mari El Yabloko (Ran for State Duma, endorsed Polonian)
- Lili Samoylenka, Leader of Mari El Party of Business (Ran for State Duma, endorsed Polonian)
Alongside Samoylenko and Chernikov, a total of 14 other opposition candidates withdrew in support of Polonian, several of which were elected to the State Durma.
Polling[]
| Date | Polonian (NP) | Zaitsev (UR) | Chernikov(YB) | Samoylenka (PB) | Others |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 2-4, 2028 | 51% | 49% | Suspended | Suspended | N/A |
| December 9-16, 2027 | 47% | 53% | |||
| December 1-6, 2027 | 50% | 50% | |||
| November 18-19, 2027 | 41% | 49% | 9% | 1% | |
| October 1-12, 2027 | 39% | 46% | 12% | 3% | |
| August 9-16, 2027 | 37% | 45% | 10% | 7% | 1% |
| August 9-16, 2027 | 39% | 49% | 8% | 3% | 1% |
Results[]
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Percentage | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iris Polonian | New People | 116,614 | 50.0002% | |
| Yury Zaitsev | United Russia | 116,613 | 49.9998% | |
| Total | 233,227 | 100.0% | ||
State Duma elections[]
A coalition of New People. Yabloko, 14 Independents, and Party of Business gained a majority in the State Duma, these results were contested but held up by Regional Courts.
| Leader | Party | Seats | Change | Votes | Percentage | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iris Polonian (Retired) | New People | 12 | +11 | 66,656 | 28.58% | |
| Yury Minakov | United Russia | 11 | -24 | 62,411 | 26.76% | |
| Dimitriy Chernikov | Yabloko | 8 | +8 | 37,852 | 16.23% | |
| Albert Solovevo | CPRF | 4 | -5 | 33,794 | 14.49% | |
| Lili Samoylenka | Party of Business | 1 | +1 | 17,422 | 7.47% | |
| Independents | 16 | +2 | 14,250 | 6.11% | ||
| Rejected Ballots | 839 | 0.36% | ||||
| Total | 52 | 233,224 | 100.0% | |||