Duma Election Law: Details
Law on Elections of Deputies to the State Duma
(Federal Law of 18 May 2005 No. 51-F3).
Click here for the full text in Russian.
- 1. PR system
In the next elections (2007) all 450 Duma members will be elected on party lists in a single nationwide constituency under proportional representation (Art 3). (This replaces the mixed-member system which existed from 1993 to 2003). - 2. Threshold: 7%
The threshold to win seats is 7 percent of the total vote, provided that at least two parties win seats and the combined vote of these parties is more than 60 per cent of the total vote. If the total vote for parties passing the 7 percent threshold is 60 percent or less, then parties with less than 7 percent of the total vote also win seats, in descending order according to their votes, until the total vote for parties winning seats exceeds 60 percent. If one party wins more than 60 percent of the vote, and the other parties less than 7 percent, then the party with the second highest number of votes wins seats also. (In 2003 and previous elections the threshold was 5.0%). - 3. Minimum turnout: NONE
There is no minimum turnout for a valid election. In previous Duma elections, it was 25 percent (Art. 82). - 4. Method of seat distribution
Seats are distributed by proportional representation using the Hare method, that is, the total number of valid votes is divided by the total number of seats, 450, to produced a quotient, and each party's total valid vote is divided by the quotient to determine how many many seats it wins. If any seats are undistributed after this, they go to the parties with the highest remainders resulting from the division (Art. 83). - 5. Only registered parties compete
Only political parties registered as such under the parties law of 11 June 2001 are allowed to put up candidates, although up to 50% of each list can be made up by candidates who are not members of the party concerned. (Full list of registered parties) - 6. Party affiliations fixed:
Formation of blocs of parties is not allowed. (Art. 7). (In previous elections, parties frequently combined to form blocs to increase their chances of overcoming the threshold). In addition, as a result of an amendment to the law (Law No. 93-F3 of 21 July 2005), Duma members are no longer allowed to change their party affiliation after being elected. (Previously many Duma members, especially those elected in single-member districts as independents, changed their affiliations after being elected, with the result that there was a big gap between election results and parties represented in the Duma). However, Duma members may withdraw from their party and continue to sit as independents. - 7. Regional division of lists obligatory
Party lists must be divided into an all-federal group consisting of the top three candidates, and a minimum of 100 regional groups covering the entire territory of the Russian Federation (Art. 36). - 8. The CEC evaluates and approves all candidates in 2 stages...
The process is triggered by the announcement of the election by the President (in 2007, this will occur between 30 August and 18 September). Within 30 days after the announcement of the election: party conferences nominate LISTS of candidates by secret ballot and present their lists to the Central Election Commission, including information about candidates' citizenship, employment status, property and income. Within seven days of receiving a party's list of candidates, the Commission must certify (zaveryat') the list or refuse to certify the list if documents submitted are incomplete. A party can appeal rejection to the Supreme Court, which must consider the appeal within five days. (Art.38). After certification (zaverenie) of party lists, no further changes to the list are allowed, unless a candidate dies or withdraws. The CEC publishes the information about candidates presented in the nomination papers on the Internet.
After a party's list has been certified, if a party had won list seats in the previous (2003) Duma election--in 2007 this includes United Russia, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, the Liberal Democratic Party, and Motherland--it does not need to collect signatures or pay a deposit for its list to appear on the ballot. If a party did not win list seats in the previous Duma collection, it must must EITHER collect 200,000 signatures, of which no more than 10,000 can come from any one oblast, OR pay a deposit equal to 60 million roubles (about $2.3 million). The deposit is returnable if the party wins 4 percent or more of the total vote.
No later than 45 days before the election (in 2007, by 18 October) all parties must FILE nomination papers PLUS any signatures collected or the Election deposit in order to register (registrirovat'sya) for a place on the ballot (Art.42). After they have filed their nomination papers, the Central Election Commission verifies the accuracy of the information presented by candidates about themselves, and it is obliged to publicize any inaccuracies through the mass media (Art. 43.6). It also checks the validity of signatures collected. Within ten days after the papers are filed, the Commission must confirm a place on the ballot or refuse it for stated reasons. A party has the right of appeal to the Supreme Court, which must consider the appeal within five days. The Central Election Commission may refuse to register (registrirovat') a list for a place on the ballot on grounds of procedural or other violations of election law or if a sample of the signatures contains 5 percent or more which are false or invalid, subject to appeal only in the Supreme Court (Art. 44.3). The election may be delayed for two months if the requirements for nomination leave less than two parties on the ballot. - 9. Maximum expenditure levels
Maximum permitted campaign expenditures are set at federal level and at regional level. At federal level, the maximum expenditure is 400 million roubles, of which no more than 50 percent can come from the party's own resources, and the remainder must come from individual donations up to a maximum of 280,000 roubles, and donations by organizations up to a maximum of 14 million roubles. At regional level, the maximum expenditure varies from 6 to 30 million roubles depending on the population of the region. Foreign companies, organizations and persons and Russian companies with more than 30 percent foreign capital participation are not permitted to make donations (Art. 64). - 10. Period of effect
In force from 7 December 2006, except provisions concerning announcement of elections (Art. 6), which are in force with immediate effect.
Top of Page