In Russia, President Vladimir Putin cemented his supremacy over Russia's political system when his ruling United Russia party took three quarters of the seats in parliament in a weekend election, paving the way for him to run for a fourth term as President. <br/><br/>With most votes counted, United Russia, founded by Putin almost 16 years ago after he first became President, was on track on Monday to win 76 percent of the seats in Russia's Duma, the lower house of parliament, up from just over half in 2011.<br/><br/>Around 4 million fewer Russians voted for United Russia compared to 2011, data from the Central Election Commission showed. United Russia won 343 seats of the total of 450 in the Duma, the Central Election Commission said, after 93 percent of ballots had been counted.<br/><br/>Presiding over a government meeting at the Kremlin yesterday, Putin hailed the election result, saying it showed voters still trusted the country's leadership despite an economic slowdown made worse by Western sanctions over Ukraine.