Chapter 7. STATUS OF CANDIDATES

Article 45. Equality of Candidates

All candidates shall have equal rights and bear equal obligations, save as otherwise provided by this Federal Law, the Federal Law "On Basic Guarantees of Electoral Rights and the Right of Citizens of the Russian Federation to Participate in a Referendum."

Article 46. Restrictions Connected with the Office or Official Position

1. When conducting their election campaign candidates who occupy state or elective municipal offices or are state or municipal civil servants, candidates who are members of governing bodies of organizations regardless of the form of ownership (in organizations where the highest governing body is the general assembly – members of bodies which manage the activity of these organizations), with the exception of political parties, as well as candidates who are officials, journalists, persons holding other creative jobs in mass media organizations shall not take advantage of their office or official position.

2. Registered candidates who are state and municipal civil servants or work in mass media organizations shall be relieved, for the period of their participation in the election of deputies of the State Duma, from their official or service duties. A certified copy of the relevant order (directive) shall be presented to the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation by an authorized representative of the political party within five days of the registration of the federal list of candidates in which the given candidate is included.

3. During the period of the election campaign, persons who are not candidates and who occupy state or municipal elective offices or are state or municipal civil servants or are members of governing bodies of organizations regardless of the form of ownership (in organizations where the highest governing body is the general assembly – members of bodies which manage the activity of these organizations), with the exception of political parties, shall not take advantage of their office or official position to promote nomination of federal lists of candidates and/or election of candidates included therein..

4. In this Federal Law taking advantage of an office or official position means:

(1) involvement of persons who are subordinate or are officially dependent otherwise, state and municipal civil servants in the activities carried out during the working hours to promote nomination of federal lists of candidates and/or election of candidates included therein;

(2) use of premises occupied by state bodies or bodies of local self-government, organizations regardless of the form of ownership, with the exception of premises occupied by political parties, for activities promoting nomination of a federal list of candidates and/or election of candidates included therein if the use of the same premises on the same terms and conditions is not guaranteed to other political parties which nominated federal lists of candidates;

(3) use for election campaigning of telephone, fax and other means of communication, office equipment, information services ensuring the functioning of state bodies or bodies of local self-government, state and municipal institutions, organizations regardless of the form of ownership, with the exception of the aforementioned means of communication, office equipment and information services ensuring the functioning of political parties, if their use is not paid for from the relevant electoral fund;

(4) use of transport facilities owned by the state, municipalities or organizations, with the exception of transport facilities owned by political parties, at no charge or reduced charges for activities promoting nomination of federal lists of candidates and/or election of candidates included therein. This provision shall not apply to persons using the said transport facilities in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation on the security services provided by the state;

(5) collection of voter signatures or election campaigning carried out by persons who hold state and elective municipal offices or are state or municipal civil servants or are heads of local administrations or are members of governing bodies of organizations regardless of the form of ownership (in organizations where the highest governing body is the general assembly – members of the bodies which manage the activity of these organizations), with the exception of political parties, during business trips paid for from the relevant budget, out of the funds of the relevant organization;

(6) access (provision of access) to the state and municipal mass media for the purpose of collection of signatures or election campaigning if other political parties, which nominated federal lists of candidates, are not guaranteed the same access for the same purposes in accordance with this Federal Law;

(7) propaganda speeches at mass (public) events organized during an election campaign by state and/or municipal bodies, organizations regardless of the form of ownership, with the exception of political parties;

(8) publication of any work reports in the mass media, in printed propaganda materials during an election campaign; mailing of congratulations and other materials in the name of a citizen who is a candidate if such mailing is not paid for out of the electoral fund of the political party which nominated him.

5. Compliance with the restrictions listed in Part 4 of this article must not prevent deputies from exercising their powers and performing their obligations to voters.

6. Officials, journalists and other persons holding creative jobs in mass media organizations shall not participate in covering an election campaign in the mass media if these persons are candidates or authorized representatives or agents of political parties.

Article 47. Guarantees for the Activity of Candidates

1. Upon the request or on the basis of the report of a registered candidate the employer, the head of a state body or its division, the commander of a military unit, the administration of an educational establishment, where the candidate serves, goes through an alternative civil service, undergoes military training, studies, shall relieve the candidate from work, service, military training and study on any day and for any length of time in the period from the day on which the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation registered the relevant federal list of candidates and up to the day of official publication of the results of the election of deputies of the State Duma.

2. On the initiative of the employer (administration of an educational establishment) a registered candidate may not be fired, expelled from an educational establishment or, without his consent, transferred to another job, including a job in another locality, or sent on a business trip or called for military service and/or military training or mobilized for an alternative civil service. The period of participation of a registered candidate in the election of deputies of the State Duma shall be included in his labor record in accordance with his specialty before his registration as a candidate.

3. A criminal case may not be initiated against a registered candidate without the consent of the Prosecutor-General of the Russian Federation. Without the consent of the Prosecutor-General of the Russian Federation a registered candidate may not be involved as a defendant in a criminal case, taken into custody or subjected to an administrative punishment by a court. Having given such consent, the Prosecutor-General of the Russian Federation shall immediately notify the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation to this effect.

(as amended by Federal Law No. 64-FZ of April 26, 2007)

Article 48. Agents of Political Parties

1. The political party which nominated a federal list of candidates may appoint up to 1000 agents. These persons shall be registered by the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation within three days of receipt of written notification from the political party about the appointment of agents and a statement of the citizen expressing his consent to be an agent, but not before a decision has been taken to certify the federal list of candidates nominated by the political party. The list of agents in the form of hard and soft copy shall be submitted to the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation in accordance with the format established by it.

(as amended by Federal Law No. 64-FZ of April 26, 2007).

2. The notification about the appointment of agents shall indicate the surname, first name and patronymic; the date of birth, the series and number of the passport or an equivalent identity document and the date of its issuance; the main place of work or service and the position (occupation, if there is no main place of work or service); the residence address of each agent.

3. Russian Federation citizens who are candidates in elections of any level, persons occupying state or elective municipal offices, heads of local administrations, members of the staff of election commissions shall not qualify for appointment as agents. State or municipal civil servants may be appointed agents provided they are relieved from their official duties for the period of the exercise of an agent’s powers. State or municipal civil servants shall be registered as agents if they present an order (directive), relieving them from official duties for the duration of the leave of absence, to the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation.

4. Agents shall receive ID card from the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation. Upon an agent’s request the employer shall grant him an unpaid leave of absence for the period during which he is to exercise the powers of an agent.

5. Agents shall carry on propaganda activities in favor of the political party which appointed them. An agent shall not be entitled to act as an observer.

6. The political party which appointed agents may, at any time, recall them and appoint other agents in their place by serving relevant notice on the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation, which shall annul ID cards issued to the recalled agents. An agent may, at any time, resign his powers on his own initiative by returning his ID card to the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation and notifying the political party of his decision.

7. The powers of agents shall commence from the day on which they are registered by the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation and shall terminate when a candidate's status is forfeited by all candidates on a federal list of candidates nominated by the political party which appointed the agents, save as otherwise provided by Part 6 of this article, but not later than the day of the official publication of the results of the election of deputies of the Sate Duma or, in the event of on-going judicial proceedings which involve complaints about violations of this Federal Law, not later than the date on which the relevant court decision becomes legally effective.

8. The registration of an agent shall be annulled by the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation if the agent acquires a status incompatible with the status of an agent. The political party shall be notified of such decision within three days of its adoption.

Article 49. Withdrawal of Candidates, Recalling of a Federal Lists of Candidates

1. A candidate may, at any time but not later than 15 days before voting day or, in the presence of compelling circumstances, not later than one day before voting day, refuse to continue participation in the election of deputies of the State Duma on the federal list of candidates in which he is included, by submitting a written application to this effect to the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation. Such application shall be irrevocable. Based on the received application the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation shall, within three days or, three and less days before voting day, within 24 hours, remove the candidate from a federal list of candidates.

2. At any time but not later than five days before voting day, the political party may recall its federal list of candidates, subject to a decision of a competent body of this political party, by submitting a written application to this effect to the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation. Such application shall be irrevocable.

3. Based on the federal law and/or its rules the political party may, not later than 15 days before voting day, remove separate candidates from its federal list of candidates certified (registered) by the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation, save as otherwise provided by Part 11, Article 91 of this Federal Law.

(Part 3 as amended by Federal Law No. 64-FZ of April 26, 2007)

4. No new candidates shall be put on a federal list of candidates and no changes shall be made in the order in which candidates are arranged on the list, save the cases where changes in the arrangement of candidates result from the withdrawal of some candidates.

5. If, by voting day, less than two registered federal lists of candidates remain, then, by the decision of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation the election of deputies of the State Duma shall be postponed for a period not exceeding three months for additional nomination of federal lists of candidates and performance of subsequent electoral actions.

6. If the situation mentioned in Part 5 of this article results from the fact that the political party recalled a registered federal list of candidate in the absence of any compelling circumstances or that the registration of a federal list of candidates was annulled by a court or that the registration of a federal list of candidates was annulled on the basis of Part 2, 3 or 4, Article 91 of this Federal Law (save the case where such annulment is due to the withdrawal of a candidate from the list because of compelling circumstances) the expenses incurred by all election commissions in the preparation and conduct of the election of deputies of the State Duma shall be collected from the relevant political party.

7. In this Federal Law circumstances compelling a candidate to give up further participation in the election of deputies of the State Duma mean occupation by a candidate of the office specified by the Constitution of the Russian Federation; a court decision pronouncing a candidate to be legally incapable or partially incapable; a serious illness or persistent health problems of a candidate or his next of kin. The circumstances compelling the political party to recall a federal list of candidates mean withdrawal of candidates included in the all-federal part of a federal list due to compelling circumstances, including their death, and/or withdrawal of more than 25 percent of candidates from a federal list of candidates.