Putin signs law governing elections in new Russia’s regions

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law amending existing legislation on the conduct of elections in the country’s new regions as well as election procedures, according to the document published on Monday.
The new regions of the Russian Federation, the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), Lugansk People’s Republics (LPR), Zaporozhye Region and Kherson Region, have now been delegated the right to independently determine certain provisions of the federal election law, starting from a single voting day this September. In particular, residents of the new regions are now eligible to cast votes at polling stations located outside of their home regions and may also use not only their Russian internal passports for personal identification purposes but also other documents with equivalent legal force.

• Elections under martial law

The document also establishes the procedure for holding elections under martial law, stipulating that referendums and elections may be held on those territories where martial law has been declared following relevant consultations by Russia’s Central Election Commission (CEC) with the Russian Defense Ministry and the Federal Security Service (FSB). Under the bill, elections and referendums may be held, provided that all relevant bodies approve it, across the entire territory where martial law has been declared or in a specific part of such territory.