MOSCOW. May 24 (Interfax) - The Russian Federation Council voted on Wednesday for a bill updating the procedure for holding elections during martial law.
Under the bill, if martial law is enacted, a governor is entitled to submit to the Central Election Commission (CEC) a proposal on holding elections in the region no earlier than 130 days and no later than 90 days prior to election day. The CEC should hold consultations with the Defense Ministry and the Federal Security Service no later than five days from the date of receiving such a proposal, and based on their results make a decision on scheduling or not scheduling elections. At the same time, cutting the timeframe for electoral activities is permitted.
In addition, it is envisaged that "Russian legislation on elections and referenda could stipulate other specific [elements] of preparations and the holding of elections or a referendum during a period of martial law."
A number of other provisions regarding the laws on elections were also approved. In particular, under the amendments, candidates and parties will not be allowed to campaign using websites access to which is restricted by the Russian telecoms watchdog Roskomnadzor.
The bill says that funds to assist with preparing and holding elections, including payments to members of election commissions, as well as for providing information to voters, will be allocated for elections for federal state authorities and presidential elections and local self-government bodies from the Russian regional and local budgets.
In addition, it is proposed that candidates be allowed to distribute campaign materials for an election campaign which do not have a per item cost of more than 2% of the subsistence minimum per capita in Russia as a whole (currently, 2% is equal to 276 rubles per item). Currently, the law sets a limit of 100 rubles.
The bill also propose setting a minimum amount for voluntary electoral donations from citizens and legal entities, which cannot be more than 3% of the per capita subsistence minimum in Russia.
Under the bill, voter lists, if compiled or updated, could now be made in a digital format and signed using the electronic signatures of the chairman and secretary of the local election commission.
The bill also stipulates that only journalists working according to an employment contract will be permitted to attend the vote count, while those who work under a civil law contract will not be allowed to attend.
The bill stipulates that extraterritorial polling stations can be set up, while the concept of absentee ballots is abolished.
According to the bill, a member of the Federation Council representing a constituent entity of the Russian Federation could be recalled before their term's expiration.
A recall request is submitted to the Federation Council for consideration and making a decision on the early termination of the term of such a senator, the bill said. The recall request cannot be submitted within a year after the decision to appoint a Russian senator representing a Russian region by the relevant state authority of the Russian region entered into effect and less than three months before the end of the senator's term, it said.
If after consideration, the Federation Council dismisses the request for a senator's recall, a state authority of the Russian region which made a decision to vest the senator with powers can make a repeat request no earlier than six months after the dismissal of the request, it said.
"The procedure of recalling a senator used to exist at one time, then it was scrapped, but we're proposing to return it to being in line with the overall development of the new provisions of the constitution now," First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on State Building and Legislation Dmitry Vyatkin, who co-authored the amendments, told Interfax.
The practical application of the law also suggests that, for instance, "senior officials are not always able to work until the end of their term, and a new governor with their own team could appear" and nominate a new senator, he said.
The bill on elections amid martial law was drafted by State Duma State-Building and Legislation Committee Chairman Pavel Krasheninnikov and Federation Council Constitutional Legislation and State-Building Committee Chairman Andrei Klishas, as well as a number of other MPs, including from the Liberal Democratic Party and New People factions.