On the Question of Ensuring the Electoral Rights of Russian Federation Citizens at Places of Their Temporary Stay on Voting Day During Preparation and Administration of the Election of the President of the Russian Federation
CENTRAL ELECTION COMMISSION OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
EXCERPT FROM THE MINUTES OF THE MEETING
February 17, 2000
No. 84-1-3
Moscow
On the Recommendations
In pursuance of Clause 1, Article 17 of the Federal Law «On the Election of the President of the Russian Federation» the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation has resolved:
1. To approve the Recommendations On the Question of Ensuring the Electoral Rights of Russian Federation Citizens at Places of Their Temporary Stay on Voting Days During Preparation and Administration of the Election of the President of the Russian Federation (appended hereto).
2. To forward the said Recommendations to the election commissions of the Subjects of the Russian Federation for making them known to the territorial and precinct election commissions, and to the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation, the Interior Ministry of the Russian Federation, the Federal Border Service of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Public Health of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Labor and Social Development of the Russian Federation for use in the practical activities.
3. To publish this excerpt from the minutes of the meeting in the journal Bulletin of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation.
O.K. Zastrozhanya
Secretary
Central Election Commission
of the Russian Federation
Annex
to the excerpt from the minutes of the meeting
of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation
No. 84-1-3 of February 17, 2000
Recommendations
On the Question of Ensuring the Electoral Rights of Russian Federation Citizens at Places of Their Temporary Stay on Voting Day During Preparation and Administration of the Election of the President of the Russian Federation
Under Article 2 of the Russian Federation Law «On the Right of Russian Federation Citizens to the Freedom of Movement, Choice of the Place of Stay and Residence Within the Russian Federation» and Clause 4, Article 24 of the Federal Law «On the Election of the President of the Russian Federation» (hereafter «the Federal Law») «places of temporary stay» means hospitals, sanatoria, holiday hotels, places of confinement for persons suspected and accused of commission of crimes, and other places.
Under Clauses 2 and 3, Article 24 of the Federal Law «On the Election of the President of the Russian Federation» electoral precincts are formed by the head of a municipal unit (or, if this office is not provided by the charter of the municipal unit, by the person authorized to do so by the representative body of local self-government) with the concurrence of the corresponding territorial election commission, taking into account the local and other conditions and proceeding from the need to provide maximum convenience for voters. Not more that 3 thousand voters must be registered in the territory of an electoral precinct. These general requirements apply also to the formation of electoral precincts at the places of temporary stay. At such places electoral precincts must be formed not later than March 2 of this year and, in exceptional cases, not later than March 21, 2000.
The clarification of the procedure for formation of a territorial and an precinct election commission in the election of the President of the Russian Federation was approved by Resolution of the CEC of Russia No. 69/787-3 of January 14, 2000. It must be remembered that precinct election commission are formed within a period which begins not later than two days from the day of formation of the given electoral precinct and ends on March 6, 2000. The general requirements to the formation of precinct election commissions fully apply to formation of precinct election commissions in electoral precincts at places of temporary stay. The heads of institutions where citizens are staying temporarily together with the representative bodies of local self-government must, through appropriate organizations and meeting of voters, encourage proposals to include representatives of the administration and employees of places of temporary state in precinct election commissions. Inclusion of the said persons in precinct election commissions is also advisable when arrangements are made for citizens remaining at places of temporary stay to vote in general electoral precincts in the territory of which the given institution is located. This will make it possible more efficiently to ensure the exercise of their electoral rights by this category of citizens in the institution itself, by the use of mobile ballot boxes.
Under Clause 5, Article 26 of the Federal Law citizens remaining on voting day at places of temporary stay are included in the voters list on the basis of a passport or an equivalent identity paper and an absentee certificate for voting in the elections.
According to Clause 6, Article 65 of the Federal Law the papers equivalent to a passport, on the basis of which a citizen may take part in the voting include:
a serviceman's card1or an officer's identity card for persons who undergo military service;
certificates, other papers of a standard form issued by law enforcement bodies of the Russian Federation (including a certificate, Form «V») established by Directive of the Passport-Visa Department of the Interior Ministry of Russia No. 16/4120 of November 17, 1999 and Joint Directive of the Passport-Visa Department of the Interior Ministry of Russia and the Chief Department for Execution of Penalties of the Ministry of Justice of Russia dated November 26, 1999; a temporary identity card of a Russian Federation citizen according to Form 2P);
a foreign passport of the Russian Federation citizen, for persons who permanently reside or currently stay outside the territory of the Russian Federation;
a seaman's passport.
Russian Federation citizens who, on voting day, will remain at places of temporary stay may receive absentee certificates for voting either personally or through their representatives in the corresponding territorial election commission (from February 21 to 7 March 7, 2000) or the corresponding precinct election commission (from March 8 to March 25, 2000) in the electoral precinct formed where they reside permanently or where they are included on the voters list. For this purpose a citizen must submit an application to the election commission indicating the reason why he/she cannot come to the polling station on voting day (a specimen of such an application is appended hereto).
If, for some reason, a citizen remaining at the place of temporary stay cannot personally receive an absentee certificate for voting, the corresponding election commission issues an absentee certificate to the citizen's representative on the basis of a written application of the citizen and a notarially authenticated power of attorney. The power of attorney may also be authenticated by the administration of the hospital where the voter is undergoing treatment, the administration of the institution where suspected or accused persons are confined, by other officials who are authorized to authenticate a citizen's power of attorney under Article 185 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation (a recommended form of the power of attorney is appended hereto).
Absentee certificates for voting in the election of the President of the Russian Federation are issued by a territorial or a precinct election commission in accordance with the Clarification of the Procedure for Recording and Issuance of Absentee Certificates for Voting in the Election of the President of the Russian Federation approved by Resolution of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation No. 77/902-3 of February 4, 2000.
The voter or his/her representatives sign for the receipt of an absentee certificate in the journal of issued absentee certificates (in the territorial election commission) or in the voters list (in the precinct election commission), indicating the series and number of his/her passport or an equivalent paper. In this case, the given voter is excluded from the voters list of the electoral precinct and is not included in the number of registered voters counted when the protocol of voting results is being drawn up by the precinct election commission.
Upon production of an absentee certificate and an identity paper the voter is included on the voters list of the electoral precinct formed at the place of his/her temporary stay or the general electoral precinct in the territory of which the given institution is located. When voting is conducted in the election of the President of the Russian Federation the precinct election commission withdraws the detachable coupon of the absentee certificate produced by the voter, or, in the event of repeat voting, the absentee certificate itself. If, by the time of repeat voting, a citizen has left the place of temporary stay for the place of permanent residence he/she is included on the voters list of the electoral precinct formed at the place of residence upon production of an absentee certificate and a passport or an identity paper.
Under Clause 6, Article 25 of the Federal Law voters lists for the electoral precinct formed at places of temporary stay of voters are compiled on the basis of voter data furnished by the head of the institution where the voters are temporarily staying. The head of such institution must ensure that each person included on the voters list has a passport or some other document certifying the person's identity and Russian Federation citizenship as well as an absentee certificate for voting. The officials furnishing voter data are responsible for the accuracy, completeness of this data and its prompt submission.
In view of this, it is recommended that the administration of institutions where citizens are staying temporarily, together with the election commissions explain to voters the issues relating to their participation in the election of the President of the Russian Federation. The administration of such institutions must assist the citizens at places of temporary stay, who wish to take part in the elections, in the execution of a power of attorney and submission of an application to the corresponding election commission, authenticate the powers of attorney, arrange for dispatching these documents to the citizen's representative, and, upon receipt of an absentee certificate from the citizen's representative, inform the citizen to this effect.
It is advisable that this work be carried out mainly during the period when absentee certificates are issued by territorial election commissions.
Similar organizational arrangements must be made by the administration of institutions where persons suspected and accused of commission of crimes are confined. In addition to this, it is necessary to make sure that the personal files of the suspected or accused persons contain their passports or equivalent identity papers and, if such papers are absent, to send requests for the necessary identity papers of citizens to the places of their residence through law enforcement bodies servicing the territory where the given institution is located. If the passport or an equivalent identity paper is kept with the materials of the criminal case it is necessary to send a request for an identity paper to the appropriate investigating authority or to a court taking into account the provisions of Para. 21 of Resolution of the Russian Federation Government No. 828 of July 8, 1997 «On the Approval of the Regulation on the Passport of the Russian Federation Citizen, the Specimen of the Blank and Description of the Passport of the Russian Federation Citizen.» In accordance with these provisions the passport of a person put under arrest must be temporarily withdrawn by the body conducting preliminary investigation or by the court and placed in the personal file of this person.
If a citizen does not have a passport, the administration of the institution must establish the citizen's identity and place of permanent residence on the basis of other documents certifying the identity of this citizen, including certificates of the standard form issued by law enforcement bodies. if the documents submitted by law enforcement bodies do not show that the given person is registered at the place of permanent residence, this citizen is included in the voters list of the electoral precinct at the place of temporary stay without an absentee certificate.
POWER OF ATTORNEY
Recommended form of a power of attorney
For Receipt of an Absentee Certificate2
_________________________________________________________
(full address of the place where the power of attorney is executed, or No. of the military unit)
Date of execution of the power of attorney __________________ , 2000.
(day, month, in words)
I, ________________________________________________________
(first name, patronymic, last name, year of birth)
permanently residing at ______________________________________________
hereby authorize ___________________________________________________
(first name, patronymic, last name, year of birth)
identity paper ______________________________________________________
(series, number, time of issuance, issuing authority)
to receive an absentee certificate for voting in the election of the President of the Russian Federation in the territorial (precinct) election commission for the reason indicated in my application (appended hereto).
Signed _________________
(grantor)
3 The power of attorney has been drawn up and signed in the presence of the person who authenticated the power of attorney
_________________________________________________________
(first name, patronymic, last name, position of the authorized official of the administration of the hospital; commanding officer (head) of a military unit, formation, institution or organization; authorized official of the administration of places for confinement of persons suspected and accused of commission of crimes; authorized official of the administration of a social security institution or head of the appropriate public social security body).
The identity of the citizen who has granted the power of attorney has been established on the basis of documents
(Signed) : ___________________
Stamp here
APPLICATION SAMPLE4
To the territorial (precinct) election commission
from _________________________
(first name, patronymic, last name)
residing at ___________________________
(full postal address)
APPLICATION
Since, on voting day, I cannot come to the voting premises of the electoral precinct where I
am included on the voters list because ___________________________________________
(indicate the reason)
I hereby request that an absentee certificate be issued to my representative.
______________
date
_______________
signature
1 In the Russian army serviceman's cards are issued to soldiers and NCOs (Transl. note)
2 This power of attorney is drawn up by citizens remaining at places of temporary stay
3 If the power of attorney is certified by a notary its form may be changed.
4 For citizens who receive an absentee certificate through their representatives
| 
