New Chechen constitution to be adopted till next March

A new Chechen constitution is to be adopted by the end of next March, head of the Chechen administration Akhmad Kadyrov announced on Wednesday.

March will witness a referendum on adoption of the republic's main legislation, according to Kadyrov. He stressed that the draft constitution had already been elaborated, polished and subjected to legal expertise at all levels.

The article depriving people not residing in Chechnya in the last 10 years of the right to run for presidency has been considered contrary to the Russian legislation and excluded from the draft constitution.

"I personally support this decision as I am convinced that a person who has not been living in the republic for a long time cannot be sufficiently briefed on the situation," Kadyrov said.

Issues concerning the referendum and constitution adoption will be preliminarily discussed at the Chechen peoples' congress scheduled for December 11th in Grozny. Kadyrov considers it pointless to hold the forum in Moscow as it will entail big expenses for delegates. He believes local problems should be discussed on the spot.

Russian speaking representatives who have left the republic but remain its citizens have also been invited to the forum, according to Akhmad Kadyrov. They will be provided with transport and a special flight to fly from Moscow. "It is high time we united and stopped pulling in different directions," Kadyrov stressed.