Chapter 1. GENERAL

Article 1. Basic Principles of the Conduct of the Election of Deputies of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation

Deputies of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation (hereafter "deputies of the State Duma") shall be elected by citizens of the Russian Federation on the basis of universal, equal and direct suffrage by secret ballot. Participation of a Russian Federation citizen in the election shall be free and voluntary. Nobody shall compel a Russian Federation citizen to participate or not to participate in the election or shall prevent free expression of his will.

Article 2. Legislation on the Election of Deputies of the State Duma

1. The legislation on the election of deputies of the State Duma is based on the Constitution of the Russian Federation and is formed by Federal Law No. 67-FZ of June 12, 2002 "On Basic Guarantees of the Electoral Rights and the Right of Citizens of the Russian Federation to Participate in a Referendum" (hereafter "Federal Law 'On Basic Guarantees of the Electoral Rights and the Right of Citizens of the Russian Federation to Participate in a Referendum'"), this Federal Law, other federal laws.

2. The main concepts and terms used in this Federal Law shall have the same meaning as in the Federal Law “On Basic Guarantees of the Electoral Rights and the Right of Citizens of the Russian Federation to Participate in a Referendum,” unless otherwise provided by this Federal Law.

Article 3. Elections to the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation

1. Under the Constitution of the Russian Federation 450 deputies shall be elected to the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation (hereafter “the State Duma”).

2. Deputies of the State Duma shall be elected in the federal electoral district in proportion to the number of votes cast for the federal lists of candidates for the State Duma (hereafter “federal lists of candidates).

Article 4. Federal Electoral District

The federal electoral district in which deputies of the State Duma are elected shall include the entire territory of the Russian Federation. Voters living outside the territory of the Russian Federation shall be deemed included in the federal electoral district.

Article 5. Electoral Rights of Russian Federation Citizens in the Election of Deputies of the State Duma

1. A Russian Federation citizen who has attained to the age of 18 years as of voting day shall be entitled to elect deputies of the State Duma and participate in the nomination of federal lists of candidates, election campaigning, monitoring of the conduct of the elections and work of election commissions, including determination of the vote returns and establishment of the election results and also in other electoral actions, in accordance with the procedure laid down by this Federal Law, other federal laws.

2. A Russian Federation citizen who has attained to the age of 21 years as of voting day may be elected deputy of the State Duma.

3. A Russian Federation citizen who resides or stays outside the territory of the Russian Federation shall have the same electoral rights as other citizens of the Russian Federation in the election of deputies of the State Duma. Diplomatic and consular missions of the Russian Federation shall render assistance to a Russian Federation citizen in the exercise of his electoral rights.

4. A Russian Federation citizen shall not be entitled to the right to elect or be elected and to participate in other electoral actions if he has been declared by a court to be incapable or is held in custody under a court sentence.

4.1. A Russian Federation citizen shall not be entitled to be elected deputy of the State Duma if he has citizenship of a foreign state or a residence permit or another document confirming his right to permanent residence on the territory of a foreign state.

(Part 4 is introduced by Federal Law 128-FZ of July 25, 2006)

4.2. A Russian Federation citizen shall not be entitled to be elected deputy of the State Duma:

(1) if he has been convicted for commission of a serious and/or particularly serious crime and his record of conviction remains unexpunged or unexpired as of voting day;

(2) if he has been convicted for commission of an extremist crime under the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and his record of conviction for this crime remains unexpunged or unexpired as of voting day;

(3) if he has been subjected to administrative punishment for commission of an administrative offence under Articles 20.3 and 20.29 of the Code of Administrative Offences of the Russian Federation, provided that voting in the election of deputies of the State Duma takes place before expiration of the period during which this person is considered to be serving the administrative punishment;

(as amended by Federal Law No. 211-FZ of July 24, 2007)

The provisions of Paragraph 4, Part 4.2, Article 5 as amended by Federal Law No. 64-FZ of April 26, 2007 shall apply only in connection with actions of citizens and activity of political parties carried out after December 7, 2006.

(4) if a legally effective court decision establishes that he has violated the restrictions imposed by Clause 1, Article 56 of the Federal Law "On Basic Guarantees of Electoral Rights and the Right of Citizens of the Russian Federation to Participate in a Referendum" or has committed the acts mentioned in Sub-Clause “g,” Clause 7 and Sub-Clause “g,” Clause 8, Article 76 of the Federal Law "On Basic Guarantees of Electoral Rights and the Right of Citizens of the Russian Federation to Participate in a Referendum" provided that such violations or acts were committed within a period which does not exceed four years prior to voting day.

(Part 4 was introduced by Federal Law No. 64-FZ of April 26, 2007)

5. A Russian Federation citizen deprived of the right to occupy state offices for a definite period of time by a legally effective court decision may not be registered as a candidate in the election of deputies of the State Duma if the voting in these elections is to take place before the expiry of the period of time established by the court.

Article 6. Calling of the Election of Deputies of the State Duma

1. The conduct of the election of deputies of the State Duma within the period established by the Constitution of the Russian Federation and this Federal Law shall be mandatory.

2. The election of deputies of the State Duma of a new convocation shall be called by the President of the Russian Federation. The decision to call the elections shall be taken not earlier than 110 days and not later than 90 days before voting day. Voting day shall be the first Sunday of the month in which the constitutional term of the State Duma of the previous convocation expires. The constitutional term for which the State Duma is elected shall commence from the day of its election. The day of the election of the State Duma shall be the day of voting as a result of which it was elected as a competent body. The decision to call the elections shall be officially published in the mass media not later than five days after it was taken.

3. If the President of the Russian Federation does not call the election of deputies of the State Duma within the period established by Part 2 of this article, the elections shall be called by the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation and held on the first Sunday of the month in which the constitutional term of the State Duma of the previous convocation expires. The decision of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation to call the elections shall be published not later than seven days after the expiry of the period established by Part 2 of this article for the official publication of the decision to call the elections.

4. When dissolving the State Duma in cases and in accordance with the procedure provided by the Constitution of the Russian Federation the President of the Russian Federation shall simultaneously call an early election of deputies of the State Duma of a new convocation. In this case voting day shall be the last Sunday before the day on which three months expire from the day of the dissolution of the State Duma. The decision to call early elections shall be officially published in the mass media not later than five days from the day on which it was taken.

5. If the President of the Russian Federation does not call an early election of deputies of the State Duma of a new convocation after the dissolution of the State Duma, the elections shall be called by the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation and held on the last Sunday before the day on which three months expire from the day of the dissolution of the State Duma.. The decision of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation to call early elections shall be published not later than seven days after the expiry of the period established by Part 4 of this article for the official publication of the decision to call early elections.

6. In cases provided by Parts 3 - 5 of this article the periods for the performance of electoral actions established by this Federal Law shall be reduced by one-fourth. Such periods expressed in days shall be multiplied by three-fourths and rounded to the nearest whole number; if the multiplication produces a number whose fractional part is equal to a half of the whole number, such number shall be rounded up.

7. If the Sunday on which the election of deputies of the State Duma is to be held coincides with a day preceding a holiday or a holiday or a day following a holiday, or if this Sunday has been declared a working day in accordance with the established procedure, the elections shall be held on the next Sunday.

Article 7. Right to Nominate Candidates for the State Duma

1. Candidates for the State Duma (hereafter "candidates") shall be nominated on federal lists of candidates.

2. Nomination of candidates on federal lists of candidates shall be carried out by the political parties which are entitled to participate in the elections and nominate lists of candidates (hereafter "political parties") under Federal Law No. 95-FZ of July 11, 2001 "On Political Parties” (hereafter "Federal Law 'On Political Parties'").

3. The political party may also nominate candidates on a federal list of candidates, who are not members of the given political party.

Article 8. Preparation and Conduct of the Election of Deputies of the State Duma by Election Commissions

1. The preparation and conduct of the election of deputies of the State Duma, the measures to ensure the realization and protection of the electoral rights of citizens and control over the observance of these rights shall be carried out by election commissions within the scope of their competence laid down by this Federal Law, other federal laws.

2. When preparing and conducting the election of deputies of the State Duma election commissions shall be independent of the bodies of state power and bodies of local self-government within the scope of competence of these commissions laid down by this Federal Law, other federal laws. Any interference in the activity of election commissions on the part of the legislative (representative) and executive bodies of state power, bodies of local self-government, organizations, officials or citizens shall not be allowed.

3. The regulations and other decisions of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation and also decisions of other election commissions adopted by them within the scope of their competence laid down by this Federal Law, other federal laws shall be binding upon the federal bodies of executive power, bodies of executive power of the subjects of the Russian Federation, other state bodies, bodies of local self-government, candidates, political parties and other public associations, organizations, officials and voters.

4. When preparing and conducting the election of deputies of the State Duma use shall be made of the state automated system of the Russian Federation “Vybory” (hereafter “GAS ‘Vybory’”). The rules for the use of GAS “Vybory” shall be established by the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation in accordance with Federal Law No. 20-FZ of January 10, 2002 “On State Automated System of the Russian Federation “Vybory” (hereafter “Federal Law ‘On State Automated System of the Russian Federation ‘Vybory’”).

Article 9. Public Preparation and Conduct of the Election of Deputies of the State Duma

1. The election of deputies of the State Duma shall be prepared and conducted openly and publicly. The state shall make arrangements for informing voters about the procedure and period for the preparation and conduct of the elections, progress of the election campaign, vote returns and election results.

2. The regulations of bodies of state power and bodies of local self-government, regulations of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation relating to the preparation and conduct of the election of deputies of the State Duma and to the assurance of the electoral rights of citizens shall be officially published in state and municipal print media. Other decisions of these bodies, decisions of other election commissions directly relating to the preparation and conduct of the elections shall be also published in said print media or shall be publicized in other ways. The regulations of the Central Election Commission relating to the preparation and conduct of the election of deputies of the State Duma shall be posted on its site in the Internet (hereafter the “Internet”) within five days of their adoption.

Article 10. Right to Election Campaigning

1. Citizens of the Russian Federation, political parties, other public associations may conduct election campaigning in any form allowed by the law, using lawful methods.

2. In this Federal Law election campaigning means the activities which are carried out during an election campaign and are aimed to induce or are inducing voters to vote for or against a federal list of candidates, for or against a candidate (candidates) on this list.

(as amended by Federal Law No. 107-FZ of July 12, 2006)

3. The state shall assure for citizens of the Russian Federation, political parties and other public associations the freedom to conduct election campaigning in accordance with this Federal Law, other federal laws.

4. Equal conditions of access to the mass media for election campaigning shall be guaranteed to political parties which registered federal lists of candidates.

Article 11. Funding of the Election of Deputies of the State Duma

1. Funding for the activities connected with the preparation and conduct of the election of deputies of the State Duma shall be provided from the federal budget.

2. The political party which nominated a federal list of candidates shall form its own electoral fund to finance its election campaign. In cases provided by this Federal Law regional branches of the political party, which nominated a federal list of candidates, may, by a decision of the leading body of the political party duly authorized by its rules, form an electoral fund to finance the election campaign of the political party.

Article 12. Participation of Foreign Nationals, Stateless Persons and Foreign Organizations, International Organizations and International Public Movements in the Election of Deputies of the State Duma

1. Foreign nationals, stateless persons, foreign organizations, international organizations and international public movements shall not be allowed to engage in any activities which help or impede the preparation and conduct the election of deputies of the State Duma, the nomination and registration of federal lists of candidates.

2. The rules for the participation of foreign (international) observers in monitoring the preparation and conduct of the election of deputies of the State Duma shall be established by the international treaties of the Russian Federation, this Federal Law, other federal laws.