New wording of election law

The new wording of Russian citizens' franchise law seeks to strengthen the role of political parties in the country's regions and to create incentives for their activities, said Alexander Veshnyakov, chairman of the Central Election Committee, to journalists after the parliament's lower chamber passed the bill "On major guarantees of the right to vote and to take part in referendums for the citizens of the Russian Federation" in the third reading on Wednesday.

The bill is aimed at eliminating negative moments in election campaigns," he recalled saying that "the passing of the document has solved the problem." In particular, the law envisions a proportionate election system for regional legislatures and makes the two-stage election obligatory. Besides, the procedure of forming regional election committees has been changed, which "will increase their responsibility during election campaigns," Veshnyakov said.