27/7 Tass 215
GORKI, July 27 (Itar-Tass) —— Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed three laws, which improve the election system, the president said at a meeting with members of the election committees here on Wednesday.
“I would like to inform you that I signed three laws,” he said.
Medvedev elaborated that the first law regulates the voting outside the polling stations, puts in order this procedure, and, “therefore, minimizes any options for abuses.” “The new law takes into account the needs of people, who cannot go out from their homes, particularly disabled and elderly people, and sets clearly the number of portable ballot boxes and limits the number of the so-called ‘reserved’ ballot papers for a mobile group of the election committee,” the president said.
Under the law the highest number of portable ballot boxes is proportionate to the number of voters. The polling stations with up to 501 voters have a portable ballot box, up to 1,001 voters – two ballot boxes and more than 1,000 voters – three portable ballot boxes. The number of ‘reserved’ ballot papers should not exceed five percent from that on the request for ballot papers.
“The second law empowers the parties to nominate candidates for vacant seats in regional parliaments and municipal assemblies,” the president stated. He noted that “the law spells out the same election procedure for deputies at regional and local levels and for the lawmakers in the State Duma.”
“The third law, which I signed, was approved at the initiative of the deputies of all four parliamentary parties and envisages common types of signup lists at regional and local elections,” the president noted. The law stipulates “the procedure to make up these signup lists and the reasons to find the signatures invalid,” Medvedev remarked.
“I hope that the number of law violations will go down drastically with this law entered into force,” the president underlined.