Elections of deputies of the legislative (representative) body of state power of the [Subject of the Russian Federation] shall be conducted in accordance with the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the Charter (Constitution) of the [Subject of the Russian Federation], the Federal Law «On Basic Guarantees of Electoral Rights and the Right of Citizens of the Russian Federation to Participate in a Referendum», other federal laws, this Law, and laws of the [Subject of the Russian Federation].

Article 2 - Terms Used in This Law

The terms used in this Law shall be defined as follows:

election propaganda materials shall mean printed, audio-visual and other materials meeting the criteria of pre-election propaganda and intended for mass dissemination, promulgation during elections;

elections shall mean the process for electing deputies of the legislative (representative) body of state power of the [Subject of the Russian Federation], including the activities of citizens, candidates, electoral associations and blocs, election commissions, state bodies, bodies of local self-government pertaining to compilation of voter lists, nomination and registration of candidates, election propaganda, voting, tabulation and publication of voting results and election results and other electoral activities carried on subject to federal laws and laws of the [Subject of the Russian Federation];

deputy shall mean a person who serves as an elected representative in the legislative (representative) body of state power of the [Subject of the Russian Federation];

certified copy of a document of an election commission - (unless provided otherwise by a special provision of this Law) shall mean a Xeroxed copy or any other exact reproduction of the contents of a document of an election commission certified by the seal of the commission and signed by the chairman and the secretary thereof;

voter shall mean a person who is legally entitled to elect deputies of the legislative (representative) body of state power of the [Subject of the Russian Federation];

election commissions shall mean collective bodies vested with powers to organize, prepare and conduct elections of deputies of the legislative (representative) body of state power of the [Subject of the Russian Federation];

candidate shall mean a person nominated by an electoral association, electoral bloc or directly by voters in accordance with an established procedure or registered by a district election commission as a candidate for election as a deputy;

registered candidate shall mean a person registered by a district election commission as a candidate for election as a deputy of the legislative (representative) body of state power of the [Subject of the Russian Federation];

electoral association shall mean an all-Russian, inter-regional, regional public association (a political party, political organization, political movement whose main objectives as set forth in its Charter are: participation in political life of society by influencing the shaping of political will of citizens; participation in elections to bodies of state power by nominating candidates and organizing their election propaganda; participation in the organization and activities of the said bodies. An electoral association shall be established and registered in accordance with federal laws and laws of the [Subject of the Russian Federation] with the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation or a juridical body of the [Subject of the Russian Federation] and its current Charter shall be registered not later than a year prior to voting day;

electoral bloc shall mean a voluntary union of two or more electoral associations for joint participation in elections. An electoral bloc shall have the rights of an electoral association;

electoral funds shall mean monetary assets of candidates that are kept on special temporary accounts and disbursed only for the conduct of the election campaign of candidates;

observer - a person who is appointed during elections by a candidate, electoral association, electoral bloc or public association established and registered with the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation or a juridical body of the Subject of the Russian Federation to observe voting, tabulation of votes and determination of voting results and election results and other activities of the election commission during voting, determination of voting results, determination of the election results, including the activities of an election commission in verifying the correctness of determination of voting results and the election results;

foreign (international) observer shall mean a representative of a foreign or international organization who is entitled to observe the preparation and conduct of elections in accordance with federal laws;

election propaganda shall mean the activity of citizens of the Russian Federation, candidates, electoral associations, electoral blocs, public associations which is intended to encourage, and is actually encouraging, voters to participate in elections and to vote for various candidates including, in particular, political advertisements in the mass media (other than official news casts and informational programs in the mass media) or other information media and other forms of propaganda clearly aimed at influencing the election results;

equal conditions for election propaganda shall mean the circumstances under which candidates, electoral associations, electoral blocs are provided with an access to and a possibility to speak via the mass media and other methods of addressing large audiences, including provision of premises for the organization of pre-election meetings or places for the display of posters. Such access and possibilities to speak shall be made available on the same or terms and conditions as regards frequency, length of time, space, location and other significant parameters;

election campaign of candidates shall mean activities of candidates, their agents and voters supporting them which aim at ensuring the election of candidates and include arrangement of signature collection in support of nomination of a candidate, election propaganda and other organizational activities in compliance with this Law;

electoral district shall mean a territory which is formed in accordance with federal laws and this Law and from which a deputy of the legislative (representative) body of state power of the [Subject of the Russian Federation] is elected by citizens of the Russian Federation;

funding of the preparation and conduct of elections shall mean expenses by election commissions on the preparation and conduct of elections;

Article 3 - Basic Principles of Electoral System

In compliance with the Charter (Constitution) of the [Subject of the Russian Federation], the legislative (representative) body of state power of the [Subject of the Russian Federation] shall consist of ____ deputies to be elected on the basis of a majority electoral system.

Deputies shall be elected in single-mandate electoral districts formed on the basis of a unified quota of representation of voters per district (save as provided otherwise by this Law). The unified quota of representation of voters per district shall be established by dividing the total number of registered voters in the [Subject of Russian Federation] by the total number of single-mandate electoral districts.

Article 4 - Calling of Elections

In accordance with the Charter (Constitution) of the [Subject of the Russian Federation], elections of deputies of the legislative (representative) body of state power of the new convocation shall be held on the first Sunday after the expiration of the term of powers of the legislative (representative) body of state power of the [Subject of the Russian Federation] of the previous convocation. The [duly authorized body or official] of the [Subject of the Russian Federation] shall call elections not later than 90 days prior to voting day.

If the legislative (representative) body of state power of the [Subject of the Russian Federation] is dissolved pursuant to the Charter (Constitution) of the [Subject of the Russian Federation], elections of deputies shall be called by [the duly authorized body or official] of [the Subject of the Russian Federation] and held on the last Sunday before the expiration of a three-month period from the day of dissolution of the legislative (representative) body of state power of the [Subject of the Russian Federation].

The decision by [the duly authorized body or official] of the [Subject of the Russian Federation] to call elections shall be published not later than 3 days after it is taken.

In the event [the duly authorized body or official] of the [Subject of the Russian Federation] fails to call elections of deputies within the time established by Parts 1 and 2 of this article or if such a [duly authorized body or official] of the [Subject of the Russian Federation] is non-existent, elections of deputies shall be respectively held by the election commission of the [Subject of the Russian Federation] on the first or second Sunday of the month following the month in which the term of powers of the legislative (representative) body of state power of the [Subject of the Russian Federation] expires, on the first or second Sunday of the month following a three-month period from the day of early termination of the powers of the legislative (representative) body of state power of the [Subject of the Russian Federation]. The decision of the election commission to call elections shall be published not earlier than 120 days but not later than 90 days prior to voting day.

In the event [the duly authorized body or official] of the [Subject of the Russian Federation] and also the election commission of the [Subject of the Russian Federation] fail to call elections of deputies within the established period or if the election commission of the [Subject of the Russian Federation] is non-existent and cannot be formed as prescribed by the Federal Law «On Basic Guarantees of Electoral Rights and the Right of Citizens of the Russian Federation to Participate in a Referendum», elections shall be called by the court of the [Subject of the Russian Federation] upon requests of voters, electoral associations, electoral blocs, bodies of state power of the [Subject of the Russian Federation], bodies of local self-government, the Procurator of the [Subject of the Russian Federation]. In this case, elections shall be organized and conducted by a provisional election commission of the [Subject of the Russian Federation] which shall be formed for the preparation and conduct of such elections by the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation and shall consist of not more than 15 members in compliance with the requirements to the composition of an election commission laid down by the Federal Law «On Basic Guarantees of Electoral Rights and the Right of Citizens of the Russian Federation to Participate in a Referendum» within 7 days from the date on which the court decision comes into legal force.

Article 5 - Funding of the Preparation and Conduct of Elections

Measures relating to the preparation and conduct of elections of deputies shall be financed from the budget of the [Subject of the Russian Federation].

Article 6 - Preparation and Conduct of Elections by Election Commissions

Election commissions shall prepare and conduct elections of deputies of the legislative (representative) body of state power of the [Subject of the Russian Federation] and shall ensure the exercise and protection of electoral rights of citizens.

While acting within the scope of their competence laid down by law election commissions shall be independent of the bodies of state power and bodies of local self-government during the preparation and conduct of elections.

Decisions and acts of election commissions adopted within the scope of their competence as laid down by law shall be binding upon executive bodies of state power of the [Subject of the Russian Federation], state institutions, bodies of local self-government, candidates, electoral associations, electoral blocs, public associations, organizations, officials, voters as well as election commissions of lower levels.

Article 7 - Openness During the Preparation and Conduct of Elections

The preparation and conduct of elections of deputies shall be open and public.

All decisions of bodies of state power of the [Subject of the Russian Federation] and bodies of local self-government related to the preparation and conduct of elections shall be published not later than five days after their adoption save as otherwise provided by federal laws, this Law or other laws of the [Subject of Russian Federation].

ОГЛАВЛЕНИЕ | След. »»

ПУБЛИКАЦИИ ИРИС

THE MEDIA AND THE 1999 PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS IN RUSSIA

Автор: МФИС-ИРИС
Форма выпуска: Книга

Сборник статей. Издание подготовлено МФИС и ИРИС совместно с Национальным институтом прессы, в сотрудничестве с ЦИК РФ. На английском языке.

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