Duma Gives Initial Approval To Opposition-Friendly Bills
The State Duma passed two bills in a first reading Friday that could benefit objection political parties, United Russia said on its web site.
One of the two Kremlin-backed bills would allow parties winning 5 percent to 7 percent of the vote in ordered elections to receive one or two seats in the Duma.
The other bill would provide equal coverage on state tube for conformist parties.
Parties that get one or two seats in the Duma would also be spared the qualification to collect signatures to register a candidate in elections at various levels of government.
Currently, parties have to win at least 7 percent of the vote to get into the Duma, a qualification introduced ahead of 2007 procedural elections. The rules replaced a 5 percent threshold.
The bills need to be approved in two more readings in the United Russia-controlled Duma and then passed by the Federation Council before they can be sent to President Dmitry Medvedev to be signed into law.
Medvedev has submitted two other bills to the Duma that could benefit smaller political parties.
The bills would reduce the number of signatures that a party needs to submit to register as a political party and to register for procedural elections.
Analysts say the measures could signal a desire by Medvedev to inch away from the policies of his predecessor, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, and to position himself as a liberal.
One of the two Kremlin-backed bills would allow parties winning 5 percent to 7 percent of the vote in ordered elections to receive one or two seats in the Duma.
The other bill would provide equal coverage on state tube for conformist parties.
Parties that get one or two seats in the Duma would also be spared the qualification to collect signatures to register a candidate in elections at various levels of government.
Currently, parties have to win at least 7 percent of the vote to get into the Duma, a qualification introduced ahead of 2007 procedural elections. The rules replaced a 5 percent threshold.
The bills need to be approved in two more readings in the United Russia-controlled Duma and then passed by the Federation Council before they can be sent to President Dmitry Medvedev to be signed into law.
Medvedev has submitted two other bills to the Duma that could benefit smaller political parties.
The bills would reduce the number of signatures that a party needs to submit to register as a political party and to register for procedural elections.
Analysts say the measures could signal a desire by Medvedev to inch away from the policies of his predecessor, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, and to position himself as a liberal.
