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Election Schedule - A Quick Reference Guide

For the election of the deputies of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation

19 December 1999

This Election Calendar is intended to serve only as a quick reference guide. The information and descriptions of the deadlines and election activities provided in this calendar have been abbreviated and are not intended to represent the full text or requirements of the relevant laws. To gain a thorough and accurate understanding of the legal requirements, readers should refer to the actual laws and to the regulations and instructions issued by the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation.

Deadline: #Days Prior/After Election Day	Activity							Responsible Entity	Authority		COM- MENTS
									«On the Election of Deputies of the State Duma...»1	«On basic Guarantees of Electoral Rights ...»2
One year Prior December 19, 1999	A political public association or modifications and amendments to be made in the statute of a public association to obtain the status of a political public association shall be registered with the Ministry of Justice to qualify for participation in the State Duma elections.3							Ministry of Justice	Article 32 Clause 1	Article 2
200 Days Prior 2 June 1999	The Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation (CEC of RF) must present the statistical data and graphic representation of the electoral map it suggests to the State Duma for the allocation of the 225 single-mandate district seats.							CEC of RF	Article 12 Clause 5	Article 19 Clause 1
For the 1999 elections, delay is reduced to July 10, 1999	For the election of the State Duma in '99, the delay has been reduced to seven days after the entry into force of the State Duma Election Law.								Article 94 Clause 5
Between Five to Four Months Prior 19 July 1999 - 19 August 1999 Decree issued 9 August 1999	The President of the Russian Federation must issue a decree calling for the election of the State Duma within this period; the decree is officially published in the mass media within five days of its issuance. Once a decree is issued, all the provisions of the electoral laws regarding restrictions on campaign finance, media, and other matters for the pre-electoral campaign apply to the candidates and electoral blocs.							President of the Russian Federation	Article 5 Clause 2	Article 10 Clause 1
After the official publication of a decree calling for election Election Decree Published 10 August 1999	The period for the nomination of candidates for party lists starts, as well as for single-mandate candidates provided the districts have been created.							Voters, candidates, electoral associations/ blocs	Articles 37-39 Clause 3	Article 28 Clause 3
	Public mass media organizations4 must reserve paid air time and space for campaigning and make public their tariffs; they must be the same and available for everyone.									Article 40 Clause 3
	Electoral blocs, formed with the consent of two or more electoral associations have the same rights as electoral associations; they must register with the CEC of RF which has five days to accept/reject the application.								Article 33
Within 10 day of publication of Election Decree 20 August 1999 (	All federal funds available for the conduct of elections are accessible to CEC of RF							Russian Government	Article 61 Clause 2
No later than 100 Days Prior 9 September 1999	225 single-mandate districts are formed by a special Federal Law.							State Duma, on the basis of statistical data given by the R CEC of RF	Article 12 Clause 7	Article 19 Clause 1
No later than 98 Days Prior 11 September 1999	If a Federal Law with a new scheme has not been published on time, CEC of RF uses the same single-mandate districts as in the previous election process. It makes the districts public 98 days prior to election day.							CEC of RF	Article 12 Clause 8	Article 19 Clause 2
No later than 90 Days Prior 19 September 1999	District election commissions composed of 8 to 14 members, shall be formed. Members are nominated by the Subject's Executive and Legislative Authorities, in part on the basis of recommendations by the electoral associations/blocs.							Legislative and Executive bodies of the Subject of the Russian Federation	Article 20 Clause 2	Article 20 Clause 2
	State funding for the conduct of the election must be remitted by CEC of RF to the 89 Election Commissions of the Subjects of the Russian Federation							CEC of RF	Article 61 Clause 5
90 Days Prior 0 September 1999	Nomination of candidates in single-mandate electoral districts may begin if the scheme of single-mandate electoral district has not been approved within the period established by the election law5.							Candidates, electoral associations/blocs	Article 37 Clause 5
85 Days Prior 25 September 1999	Registration of candidates and lists			Registration of candidates starts for a period of 30 days.				CEC of RF, district election commissions	Article 45 Clauses 1-2	Article 32
				Together with the documents required for registration the first financial report shall be submitted to the appropriate election commission.				Candidates, electoral associations/ blocs	Article 66 Clause 2(b)
				Candidates and electoral associations/ blocs can submit either signature lists or an electoral deposit6 in support of their registration.				Candidate, electoral associations/ blocs	Article 45 Clause 5	Article 32 Clause 5
				Candidates can run simultaneously in one single-mandate district and on a party list, provided they are running for the same electoral association/bloc.				Candidates electoral associations/ blocs	Article 47 Clause 4	Article 32 Clause 7
				Upon acceptance of an application, the election commission has 10 days to register or reject a candidate/list.				Election commissions, referendum commissions	Article 47 Clause 1	Article 32 Clause 6
				Within 24 hours after a decision was taken to refuse registration of a candidate or a party list the appropriate election commission shall issue a copy of the motivated decision.				Appropriate election commission	Article 47 Clause 6	Article 32 Clause 9
				Appeal of a decision to register a candidate must be heard within five days of the decision.				Supreme Court, election commissions, courts	Article 47 Clause 10
	Election campaigning officially starts on the day a candidate or electoral association/bloc is registered; it ends a day before the vote.							Candidates, electoral associations/ blocs	Article 53	Article 38 Clause 1
No later than 65 Days Prior 14 October 1999	Last day when candidates nominated or registered for a party list or single-mandate district can switch district, decide to run on both a party list and in a single- mandate district, or vice-versa.							Electoral associations/ blocs	Article 38 Clause 10
No later than/ 60 Days Prior 19 October 1999	Voter data is collected and transferred to the 2,700 territorial election commissions for the purpose of review and correction of the voter lists							Election commissions, heads of municipal units, commanders of military units, heads of polar stations	Article 15 Clause 7
	CEC of RF must issue the form and procedure for distribution and application for absentee certificates by voters; these are considered as important as ballots.							CEC of RF	Article 72 Clause 1
	Territorial election commissions, with 5-9 members, shall be formed over a maximum period of thirty days. Members of territorial election commissions are appointed by the representative bodies of local self-governments, in part on the basis of recommendations by the electoral associations/blocs.							Representative bodies of local self-government	Article 21 Clause 1	Article 23 Clause 2
	Not later than three days after its formation				Election commissions must hold their first meeting, at which they elect their Chairman, Deputy Chairman, and Secretary among voting members.			Election commissions	Article 31 Clauses 2-4
	Commissions of Subjects of the Russian Federation shall distribute and remit funds to district election commissions.							Subject election commissions	Article 61 Clause 5
No later than 55 Days Prior 24 October 1999	Closing date of registration for candidates and party lists (18:00 local time).							Candidates, electoral associations/ blocs	Article 45 Clauses 1-2
	The last date when a candidate, an electoral association/bloc can pay their electoral deposits out of the electoral funds.							Candidates, electoral associations blocs	Article 64 Clause 5
Within a week upon the end of registration of candidates 25 October 1999 - 31 October 1999	Free air-time and free space for TV, radio, and press is distributed on an equal basis to all registered candidates, electoral associations/ blocs who requested to be included in the lot-drawing.							CEC of RF, TV and radio broadcasting organizations, press	Articles 56, 57 Clause 2
45 Days Prior 4 November 1999	Voters, unable to vote where they appear on the voter list, can obtain an absentee certificate from this date until the day before the election which enables them to vote anywhere.							Voters	Article 72 Clause 2	Article 50
No later than 40 Days Prior 8 November 1999	Subject's election commissions shall distribute public funds to territorial election commissions.							Subject election commissions	Article 61 Clause 5
	Electoral associations/blocs and candidates to receive state funding as allocated by CEC of RF.							CEC of RF	Article 62 Clause 4(b)
40 Days Prior 9 November 1999	Newspapers and magazines which receive more than 15% of their budget from public funds must provide free space to candidates and electoral associations/blocs from here until the day prior to the election.							Press	Article 57 Clause 3	Article 39 Clause 1
No later than 36 Days Prior 12 November 1999	The order of appearance on the ballot for candidates and electoral associations/blocs is determined by lot-drawing.							CEC of RF	Article 71 Clause 3
No later than 35 Days Prior 13 November 1999	The procedure for ballot production and distribution is adopted by CEC of RF; numbering of ballots is prohibited as is double-sided printing.							CEC of RF	Article 71 Clauses 1, 2
No later than 32 Days Prior 16 November 1999	Party-list ballot form and text is approved by CEC of RF; single-mandate district ballot form is approved by CEC of RF; district election commissions approve the text of each single-mandate ballot three days later.							CEC of RF	Article 71 Clause 2	Article 51 Clause 3
No later than 30 Days Prior 18 November 1999	Electoral precincts are formed; their boundaries must not cross electoral districts nor should they exceed 3,000 registered voters.							Heads of municipal units, with approval of the district election commissions	Article 14 Clause 2	Article 20 Clause 2
	Electoral precincts for places of temporary stay of voters, remote regions, polar stations, ships at sea, and on the territory of military unit and on the territory of foreign states are also formed at the same time, or, in exceptional cases, no later than five days prior to election day.							Heads of municipal units, diplomatic missions, ship's captains	Article 14 Clauses 4-6	Article 20 Clause 2
	3 days after the formation of an electoral precinct						Precinct election commissions shall be formed (including precinct commissions outside the territory of the Russian Federation).	Representative bodies of self-government, heads of diplomatic missions, ship's captains	Article 21 Clauses 2, 9	Article 23 Clause 7
	Bodies of local self-government shall, on the recommendation of district election commissions, designate places for the display of printed propaganda materials in the territory of each electoral precinct							Bodies of local self-government	Article 59 Clause 6
30 Days Prior 19 November 1999	TV and radio companies that receive more than 15% of their budget from public funds must provide free air time to candidates, electoral associations/blocs from here until the day prior to the election.							TV and radio broadcasting organizations	Article 56 Clause 3
No later than 29 Days Prior 19 November 1999	The text of a ballot for single-mandate electoral districts is approved by district election commissions							District election commissions	Article 71 Clause 2	Article 51 Clause 3
No later than 26 Days Prior 22 November 1999	Voter lists shall be compiled for each electoral precinct.							Territorial election commissions	Article 15 Clause 2
No later than 25 Days Prior 23 November 1999	A voter list shall be compiled for an electoral precinct located in a remote locality, on the territory of a military unit, for precincts formed outside the territory of the Russian Federation.							Precinct election commissions	Article 15 Clauses 3, 4, 6
	Lists of electoral precincts indicating their numbers and boundaries, location of the premises of the precinct election commissions and the voting premises, telephone numbers of precinct election commissions shall be published.							Heads of municipal units	Article 14 Clause 7
	Voter lists are transferred to the precinct election commissions.							Territorial election commissions	Article 15 Clause 10	Article 18 Clause 11
25 Days Prior 24 November 1999	The last day for voters to obtain an absentee certificate from a territorial election commission; after that date they can apply to a precinct election commission until the day prior to the vote. Only for voters unable on voting day to come to the voting premises of the electoral precinct where he/she is included on the voter list.							Voters	Article 72 Clause 2
No later than 22 Days Prior 26 November 1999	All ballots are printed; ballots contain marking instructions and are in Russian and may be also in the official language of a given Subject of the Russian Federation.							Printers	Article 71 Clause 9	Article 51 Clause 9
No later than 20 Days Prior 28 November 1999	The election commission, which placed an order for production of ballots, shall transfer the ballots received from the printing shop to territorial election commissions.							Election commissions	Article 71 Clause 11	Article 51 Clause 13
	Precinct election commissions shall inform voters about the time and place of voting through the mass media or in some other manner.							Precinct election commissions	Article 73 Clause 2
No earlier than 20 Days Prior 29 November 1999	Candidates and electoral associations/blocs must submit a financial report to the appropriate election commission between 20 to 10 days prior to voting day. Within five days of their receipt, copies of reports are made available to the mass media.							Candidates, electoral associations/ blocs	Article 66 Clause 2(a) Clause 3
15 Days Prior 4 December 1999	The first day for early voting in electoral precincts for ships at sea on voting day, at polar stations, in other remote and hard-to-reach areas.							Territorial election commission	Article 74 Clause 1	Article 53 Clause 6
No later than 5 Days Prior 13 December 1999	A candidate on a federal list, an electoral association/bloc, or an association which is a partner within a bloc may withdraw their candidature/list from the ballot at any time no later than five days prior to voting day by submitting a written application to CEC of RF.							Candidates, registered candidates on a federal list of candidates	Article 51 Clauses 3, 5, 6	Article 32 Clause 11
	Within 24 hours		CEC of RF shall remove the candidate, registered candidate from the federal list of candidates on the basis of the received application.					CEC of RF	Article 51 Clause 3
			Once the removal is confirmed by CEC of RF, changes are made to the ballot by hand or with a stamp by members of the electoral commission of the appropriate level.					Election commissions	Article 71 Clause 3	Article 51 Clause 16
	An electoral association / bloc may remove registered candidates from a federal list or a single-mandate district at any time no later than five days prior to voting day.							Electoral associations/ blocs	Article 51 Clause 8	Article 32 Clause 13
	The last date when members of precinct election commissions can be formed and their members appointed for electoral precincts formed at a polar station, on a ship at sea or in the territory of a military unit stationed in a remote locality, in hard to reach or remote areas.							Heads of the polar station, ship's captains, commanders of military units	Article 21 Clause 9; Article 14, Clause 5	Article 20 Clause 5
No later than 4 Days Prior 14 December 1999	A territorial election commission shall transfer ballots to precinct election commissions.							Territorial election commissions	Article 71 Clause 11	Article 51 Clause 13
No later than 3 Days Prior 15 December 1999	A candidate registered in a single-mandate electoral district may withdraw his/her candidature by submitting a written application to the appropriate election commission.							Candidates	Article 51 Clause 2	Article 32 Clause 11
	Within 24 hours	A district election commission annuls the registration of the candidate who submitted the corresponding application.						District election commissions	Article 51 Clause 2	Article 32 Clause 11
3 Days Prior 16 December 1999	The mass media shall not publish any information about the results of public opinion polls, forecasts of election results, or other studies related to the election until after election day.							Mass media	Article 54 Clause 3
2 Days Prior 17 December 1999	Free mass media access ends for all registered candidates, electoral associations/blocs on the last business day prior to election day.							TV and radio broadcasting organizations	Article 56 Clause 3
	Business activities of candidates, electoral associations/blocs shall stop being advertised until after election day. (ex: CDs, vodka, perfume, etc.).							Candidates, electoral associations/blocs	Article 60 Clause 3
1 Day Prior 18 December, 1999	00.00 hours local time the election campaign ends.							Candidates, electoral associations/blocs, citizens, public associations	Article 53 Clause 1
	A voter list shall be compiled for an electoral precinct formed at the place where voters stay temporarily, on a ship at sea on voting day or at a polar station no later than the day preceding the vote.							Precinct election commissions	Article 15 Clause 5
1 Day Prior 18 December, 1999	The last date when voters unable to come, on voting day, to the voting premises of the electoral precinct where they are included on the voter list shall be entitled to obtain an absentee certificate from the precinct election commission of the given precinct.							Voters	Article 72 Clause 2
Voting Day 19 December 1999	Voting is from 8:00 a. m. till 8:00 p. m., local time.							Precinct election commissions	Article 73 Clause 1
	Election propaganda materials (leaflets, posters, etc.) previously displayed outside buildings and structures of election commissions in accordance with a procedure established by the Federal Law shall remain where they are.								Article 53 Clause 2
	Voters who do not appear on voter list may apply in writing to the precinct election commission to be added to the list and obtain a decision within two hours; the decision may be appealed to a higher election commission or a court immediately upon election day.							Voters, precinct election commissions		Article 18 Clause 14
No later than 2 Days After 21 December 1999	A territorial election commission shall tabulate the voting returns for the given territory by adding up all data contained in the protocols.							Territorial election commissions	Article 78 Clause 1
No later than 4 Days After 23 December 1999	A district election commission shall determine the election results for the single-mandate electoral district and tabulate the voting returns for the federal electoral district in the territory of the given single-mandate electoral district. District election commissions and CEC of RF shall provide the general data about the results within one day after they are determined							District election commissions	Article 79 Clause 1 Article 85 Clause 2
Within 5 Days After 24 December 1999	All mass media that provided advertising (free or paid) to registered candidates, electoral associations/blocs must provide CEC of RF with a record of the cost of the advertising between five days prior to and up to five days after the election. Upon request by an election commission, a mass media organization must provide documentation confirming consent.							Mass media	Article 55 Clause 9
Nine Days After 28 December 1999	Transfer to a Subject's election commission of a copy of the protocols and the summary tables from the district election commission							District election commissions	Article 79 Clause 13
Within Two Weeks After 2 January 2000	District election commission or the election commission of a Subject of the Russian Federation shall officially publish in the mass media the data contained in protocols of all precinct and territorial election commissions of the given single- mandate electoral district.							District election commissions or Subjects' election commissions	Article 85 Clause 3
No later than Two Weeks After 3 January 2000	CEC of RF determines the general election results.							CEC of RF	Article 81 Clause 1
No later than Three Weeks After 9 January 2000	The election results as well as the complete protocols from the district election commissions shall be officially published by CEC of RF.							CEC of RF	Article 85 Clause 4
Within 3 days after publication of the general election results	Registered candidates, electoral associations/blocs that failed to perform above the minimum electoral deposit required threshold are notified of the sums they shall return.							Election commissions	Article 67 Clause 6
Within 3 days after publication of the general election results	CEC of RF shall furnish major mass media organizations7 with a list of electoral associations/ blocs that did not qualify concerning the procedure of payment of compensation for the free air time and free printing space provided to them.							CEC of RF	Article 67 Clause 7
Within five days after official publication of the election results	The electoral deposit shall be returned to the electoral fund of the registered candidate if he/she won or obtained at least 5% of votes, and to the electoral association/ bloc if it won or obtained at least 3% of the votes.							Election commissions	Article 64 Clause 9
30 Days After 18 January 2000	A registered candidate, an electoral association/ bloc that did not qualify for the electoral deposit threshold shall return the full amount of money that was remitted by the election commission for the formation of their electoral funds and for payment of travel expenses.							Registered candidates, electoral associations/ blocs	Article 67 Clause 4
	Upon the elapse of the aforementioned period					The election commission can dictate to the bank responsible for electoral funds to remit the funds to its account.		Branches of the Savings Bank of the Russian Federation	Article 67 Clause 4
Within 10 days after official publication of the general election results	Public mass media organizations shall inform each electoral association/bloc that did not qualify for the electoral deposit threshold about the cost of free air time and free printing space provided to them.							Mass media	Article 67 Clause 8
15 days after official publication of the general election results	The powers of a territorial election commission in the election of deputies of the State Duma expire if nothing is challenged or contested. If the voting returns have been contested or challenged, the territorial election commission powers shall expire after a final decision has been handed down by a higher commission or a court on the substance of the complaint.							Territorial election commissions	Article 27 Clause 2	Article 23 Clause 13
30 days after the official publication of the general results of the election	The powers of the non-voting members of election commissions shall terminate provided that substantive protests about the decisions and actions of the election commission are not pending in front of a court.							Non-voting members of election commissions	Article 23 Clause 14
	The final financial report shall be submitted to the appropriate election commission by candidates, electoral associations/ blocs no later than 30 days after the voting day. A registered candidate, an electoral association/bloc that did not qualify for the electoral deposit threshold can file with their financial report a statement that they assume responsibility to repay the debt; they receive a 12 months grace period to repay any debts thereof.							Candidates, electoral associations/ blocs	Article 66 Clause 2(c) Article 67 Clauses 13, 14	Article 47 Clause 15
Within 60 Days After 17 February 2000	The electoral deposit from a registered candidate, electoral association/ bloc that did not qualify for the threshold shall be remitted to the Federal budget by the election commission.							Election commissions	Article 64 Clause 10
No later than 60 Days After 18 February 2000	All funds which remain on the special accounts of the bank responsible for the electoral funds are returned to the Federal budget by the election commission.							Branches of the Savings Bank of the Russian Federation	Article 67 Clause 11
Within 2 Months After 19 February 2000	CEC of RF shall officially publish voting returns, including the complete data of the protocols of voting returns from the level of the territorial election commission on up.							CEC of RF	Article 85 Clause 5
Three months after the day of the official publication	CEC of RF shall submit a financial report on the expenditure of federal budget funds and the information concerning the sums contributed to and spent from electoral funds of candidates, electoral associations/ blocs to the chambers of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation; it shall be available to the mass media.							CEC of RF	Article 65 Clause 10
13 Months After 19 January, 2001	Public mass media organizations, election commissions of the Subjects of the Russian Federation shall inform CEC of RF about political public associations and individuals that have not paid full compensation for the cost of free air time and free printing space provided to them or owe debts to the Subjects' election commissions.							Public mass media, Subject election commissions	Article 67 Clause 17
From a year to five years after the publication of the official results	Ballots, absentee certificates, voter lists are kept for not less than a year; Financial records of election commissions, candidates, electoral associations/blocs, and protocols are safeguarded for no less than a year after the date of the convocation of the next election to the State Duma.							CEC of RF	Article 87 Clause 3

^{Materials Provided dy IFES Moscow}

1 Federal Law «On the Election of the Deputies of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation», dated June 24, 1999.

2 Federal Law «On Basic Guarantees of Electoral Rights and the Right of Citizens of the RF to Participate in a Referendum», dated September 19, 1997 and as amended March 30, 1999.

3 A full compilation of electoral associations is available from IFES/Russia's Resource Center.

4 All mass media that receive more than 15% of their budget from public funds are subject to strict regulations for the elections; On mass media regulations, see the IFES/NPI/IESD Handbook «Mass Media and Parliamentary Elections - 1999»

5 Federal Law «On the Election of the Deputies of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation», dated June 24, 1999.

6 For full electoral deposits regulation, see Article 64 of the Federal Law «On the Election of the Deputies of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation»

7 See the Federal Law «On the Election of the Deputies of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation», Article 55, Clauses 2 and 3