1. After official publication of the decision to call (hold) the election of the President of the Russian Federation each citizen of the Russian Federation or group of citizens of the Russian Federation who have a right to active suffrage may form an initiative voters' group consisting of not less than 100 people for nominating a candidate.

2. Not later than 30 days after official publication of the decision to call (hold) the election of the President of the Russian Federation the initiative voters' group shall submit a written application to the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation for the registration of the given initiative group. The aforementioned period shall not be applied in the event of early election of the President of the Russian Federation.

3. The application of the initiative voters' group shall indicate:

(a) the first, middle and last name of the candidate, his/her date of birth, main place of work or service and position (occupation, if there is no main place of work or service), address of the place of residence (the name of the Subject of the Russian Federation, raion, town, city or other populated center, street, house and apartment number), length of residence in the territory of the Russian Federation;

(b) the first, middle and last name, date of birth, main place of work or service, position (occupation, if there is no main place of work or service), citizenship, address of the place of residence, series and number of the passport or an equivalent identity paper of each member of the initiative voters' group.

4. The application for registration of an initiative voters' group shall be submitted together with the protocol of registration of members of the initiative voters' group at the meeting which nominated the candidate and the minutes of the meeting of the said group. The minutes of the meeting of the initiative voters' group shall contain its resolutions on:

(a) the formation of the initiative voters' group;

(b) the nomination of the candidate, with the indication of the data listed in Clause 3 of this Article;

(c) the appointment of authorized representatives of the initiative voters' group, with the indication of the data listed in Clause 4 Article 31 of this Federal Law.

5. The following documents shall be appended to the application for registration of an initiative voters' group:

(a) notarized powers of attorney for the authorized representatives of the initiative voters' group;

(b) the statement of the candidate expressing his/her consent to run, indicating the first, middle and last name of the candidate, his/her date of birth, address of the place of residence, education, main place of work or service, position (occupation if there is no main place of work or service), name of the elected office held in the body of state power or in the body of local self-government elected directly by the citizens of the Russian Federation (if any) length of residence in the territory of the Russian Federation, citizenship (if the candidate has Russian Federation and foreign citizenship - also the foreign citizenship and the name of the corresponding foreign state, the date when the citizenship was received and the reasons therefor). If a candidate has a conviction that has not expired or has not been cancelled, the statement shall also indicate the number (numbers) and the name (names) of the article (articles) of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation on the basis of which the candidate was convicted and the article (articles) of the criminal code adopted in accordance with the Fundamental Criminal Legislation of the USSR and the Union republics, the article (articles) of the law of a foreign state and the name of the law, if the candidate was convicted under these legislative acts for actions qualified as crimes by the current Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

6. Also attached to the application for registration of an initiative voters' group shall be the information about the amount and sources of the income of the candidate, his/her spouse and children, information about the property owned by the candidate, his/her spouse and children and about property liabilities of the candidate, his/her spouse and children. The information about the amount and sources of the income shall be submitted in form of copies of the income declarations of the citizen who is a candidate, his/her spouse and children for two years preceding the year in which the election of the President of the Russian Federation was called (endorsed by the tax authorities). If the declaration does not indicate the sources of income, this information shall be submitted additionally according to a form established by the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation. If under the laws of the Russian Federation on taxes and levies the citizen who is a candidate, his/her spouse and/or children does (do) not have to file an income declaration, information about the aggregate income for two years preceding the year in which the election of the President of the Russian Federation was called shall be provided by the organization (organizations) where this income was received. Information concerning the property owned by the candidate, his/her spouse and children shall be submitted in a form established by Annex 3 to this Federal Law. The list of the information concerning the income and the property of a candidate subject to publication in the event of his/her registration shall be determined by the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation. If for two years before the election of the President of the Russian Federation was called the candidate and/or the candidate's spouse and/or children received no income and/or if they own no property and/or have no property liabilities which are to be declared under this clause, this fact shall be indicated in the candidate's statement expressing his/her consent to run.

7. In the statement indicated in Clause 5 of this Article a candidate nominated directly by voters may also mention his/her membership in not more than one public association registered not later than a year prior to voting day in a procedure established by law as well his/her status in this public association provided this information is confirmed by a document certified by a permanent governing body of the given public association. In this case, the candidate shall agree with this body and with the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation the abbreviated name of the given public association consisting of not more than seven words.

8. An initiative voters' group may nominate only one candidate. A candidate may give his/her consent to run only to one initiative voters' group. A candidate who consented to nomination by an electoral association, electoral bloc shall not give his/her consent to nomination by an initiative voters' group.

9. The Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation shall issue to the initiative voters' group a written document confirming receipt of the documents submitted in accordance with this Article, immediately after these documents were submitted.

10. Having made sure that the submitted documents meet the requirements of this Federal Law the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation shall, within five days after their submission, register the initiative voters' group and its authorized representatives and issue registration certificates to the authorized representatives.

11. The reason for the refusal of registration of an initiative voters' group and its authorized representatives may be the absence or improper execution of the documents indicated in Clauses 2, 4 and 5 of this Article, presence of less than 100 members of the initiative voters' group at its meeting which nominated the candidate or other violations of the candidate nomination procedure established by this Federal Law.

12. If registration of an initiative voters' group and its authorized representatives has been refused, a motivated decision of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation to refuse registration shall be issued to the authorized representatives. This decision may be appealed in the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, which shall adjudicate the complaint within three days.

ARTICLE 34. Nomination of a Candidate by an Electoral Association, Electoral Bloc

1. An electoral association, electoral bloc shall nominate a candidate after official publication of the decision to call (hold) the election of the President of the Russian Federation.

2. An electoral association, electoral bloc may nominate only one candidate.

3. An electoral association, electoral bloc may nominate a candidate who is not a member of the given electoral association, electoral associations which formed the given electoral bloc.

4. A decision to nominate a candidate shall be taken by an electoral association at its congress (conference) by secret ballot.

5. When a candidate is to be nominated by an electoral bloc a person proposed for nomination from the electoral bloc shall be supported by secret ballot at a congress (conference) of each electoral association comprised in the electoral bloc. The said congresses (conferences) shall also approve representatives authorized to take a decision on the nomination of a candidate from the electoral bloc. The decision to nominate a candidate from an electoral bloc shall be taken at a congress (conference) of representatives of the electoral associations which formed the electoral bloc.

6. The decision of the congress (conference) of an electoral association, electoral bloc to nominate a candidate shall be recorded in the minutes (or some other document) indicating:

(a) the number of registered participants in the congress (conference);

(b) the number of participants, which is required for passing a decision in accordance with the statute of the electoral association, agreement for the formation of the electoral bloc;

(c) the decision to nominate a candidate indicating the candidate's first, middle and last name, his/her date of birth, education, main place of work or service and position (occupation, if there is no main place of work), address of the place of residence, citizenship, length of residence in the territory of the Russian Federation;

(d) the decision on the appointment of authorized representatives of the electoral association, electoral bloc;

(e) the date of the decision.

7. The decision of the congress (conference) of an electoral association on the nomination of a candidate shall be certified by the signature of the head of the electoral association and the seal of the electoral association. When a candidate is nominated by an electoral bloc, the decision taken by the congress (conference) of an electoral association which joined the electoral bloc on the nomination of a person proposed for nomination as a candidate shall be certified by the signature of the head of this electoral association and the seal of the electoral association; the decision of the congress (conference) of an electoral bloc on the nomination of a candidate shall be certified by the signatures of the authorized representatives of the electoral bloc and by the seals of the electoral associations which formed the electoral bloc.

8. Not later than 30 days after official publication of the decision to call (hold) the election of the President of the Russian Federation, the authorized representatives of an electoral association, electoral bloc shall submit the decision of the congress (conference) of the electoral association, electoral bloc on the nomination of a candidate to the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation. In the event of early election of the President of the Russian Federation the aforementioned period is not applied.

9. Simultaneously with the submission of the decision of the congress (conference) of an electoral association on the nomination of a candidate an authorized representative of the electoral association shall submit the following documents to the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation:

(a) a notarized copy or the certificate evidencing that the all-Russian political public association has been registered with the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation;

(b) a notarized copy of the current statute of the all-Russian political public association;

(c) the list of authorized representatives of the electoral association indicating the data listed in Clause 3 Article 31 of this Federal Law.

10. Simultaneously with the submission of the decision of the congress (conference) of an electoral bloc on the nomination of a candidate an authorized representative of the electoral bloc shall submit the following documents to the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation:

(a) the minutes of the congresses (conferences) of the electoral associations which formed the electoral bloc with decisions on the nomination of the person proposed for election as a candidate from the electoral bloc;

(b) the list of authorized representatives of the electoral bloc indicating the data listed in Clause 3 Article 31 of this Federal Law.

11. Simultaneously with the documents listed in Clauses 8 - 10 of this Article an authorized representatives of an electoral association, electoral bloc shall submit to the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation the candidate's statement expressing his/her consent to run. This statement shall indicate the first, middle and last name of the candidate, his/her date and place of birth, address of the place of residence, education, main place of work or service (occupation, if there is no main place of work or service), position, length of residence in the territory of the Russian Federation, citizenship (if the candidate has Russian Federation and foreign citizenship - also the foreign citizenship and the name of the corresponding foreign state, the date when the citizenship was received and the reasons therefor), and, on the candidate's request, his/her membership and status in not more than one public association registered not later than a year prior to voting day and his/her status in this public association. If a candidate has a conviction that has not expired or has not been cancelled, the statement shall also indicate the number (numbers) and the name (names) of the article (articles) of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation on the basis of which the candidate was convicted and the article (articles) of the criminal code adopted in accordance with the Fundamental Criminal Legislation of the USSR and the Union republics, the article (articles) of the law of a foreign state and the name of the law, if the candidate was convicted under these legislative acts for actions qualified as crimes by the current Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

12. An authorized representative of an electoral association, electoral bloc shall also submit to the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation the information about the amount and sources of the income of the candidate, his/her spouse and children, information about the property owned by the candidate, his/her spouse and children and about property liabilities of the candidate, his/her spouse and children. The information about the amount and sources of the income shall be submitted in form of copies of the income declarations of the citizen who is a candidate, his/her spouse and children for two years preceding the year in which the election of the President of the Russian Federation was called (endorsed by the tax authorities). If the declaration does not indicate the sources of income, this information shall be submitted additionally according to a form established by the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation. If under the laws of the Russian Federation on taxes and levies the citizen who is a candidate, his/her spouse and/or children does (do) not have to file an income declaration, information about the aggregate income for two years preceding the year in which the election of the President of the Russian Federation was called shall be provided by the organization (organizations) where this income was received. Information concerning the property owned by the candidate, his/her spouse and children shall be submitted in a form established by Annex 3 to this Federal Law. The list of the information concerning the income and the property of a candidate subject to publication in the event of his/her registration shall be determined by the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation. If for two years before the election of the President of the Russian Federation was called the candidate and/or the candidate's spouse and/or children received no income and/or if they own no property and/or have no property liabilities which are to be declared under this clause, this fact shall be indicated in the candidate's statement expressing his/her consent to run.

13. A candidate may give his/her consent to run only to one electoral association, electoral bloc.

14. The Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation shall issue to an authorized representative of an electoral association, electoral bloc a written note confirming receipt of the documents submitted in accordance with this article, immediately after they were submitted.

15. Within five days, the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation shall consider the submitted documents and take a decision to register authorized representatives of an electoral association, electoral bloc or a motivated decision to refuse to register the authorized representatives of the electoral association, electoral bloc. If, at the same time, an electoral bloc submitted to the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation the documents for registration of the electoral bloc as provided by Article 29 of this Federal Law, the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation shall consider all submitted documents within seven days.

16. The reason for the refusal to register authorized representatives of an electoral association, electoral bloc may be the absence or improper execution of the documents indicated in this Article, other violations of the candidate nomination procedure established by this Federal Law.

17. In the event of refusal of registration a motivated decision of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation to refuse registration shall be issued to the authorized representatives of an electoral association, electoral bloc. This decision may be appealed in the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, which shall adjudicate the complaint within three days.

ARTICLE 35. Ensuring Equal Status of Candidates

1. All candidates shall have equal rights and bear equal obligations, save as provided otherwise by this Federal Law.

2. The Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation shall ensure ready accessibility of the information about candidates and changes in this information (in the «read only» mode) to the users of the public information-communication networks.

3. Candidates holding government and municipal offices, persons who are not candidates but hold government and municipal offices shall not take advantage of their official position or status during the preparation and conduct of the election of the President of the Russian Federation.

4. In this Federal Law taking advantage of one's official position or status shall mean:

(a) involvement, during the working hours, of persons who are subordinate to or dependent otherwise on the candidate in the line of duty, of other government and municipal employees in the activity conducive to nomination and/or election;

(b) use of premises occupied by state bodies or bodies of local self-government for carrying on activities conducive to nomination and/or election of a candidate, registered candidate, if other candidates or registered candidates cannot use the same premises on the same terms and conditions;

(c) use of telephone, fax and other means of communication, information services, office equipment of state organizations or bodies of local self-government for collecting voter signatures or election campaigning;

(d) use of state- or municipality-owned transport facilities free of charge or at reduced rates for carrying on activities conducive to nomination and/or election. This provision shall not apply to persons using the said transport facilities in accordance with the federal law on state-provided security;

(e) collection of voter signatures or election campaigning by government or municipal employees in the course of business trips paid for from the state or municipal funds;

(f) privileged access (compared to other candidates, registered candidates) or provision of privileged access to the mass media indicated in Sub-clauses «a» - «d» Clause 1 Article 47 of this Federal Law for collecting voter signatures or election campaigning.

5. Compliance with the aforementioned restrictions must not interfere with the exercise by deputies, elected officials of their powers and performance of their duties in respect of voters.

6. In the course of an election campaign no charity activities shall be carried on by candidates, electoral associations, electoral blocs which have nominated candidates, electoral associations comprised in these electoral blocs, authorized representatives of electoral associations, electoral blocs, members and authorized representatives of initiative groups of voters which nominated candidates as well as organizations whose founders, owners, possessors are and/or whose governing or supervisory bodies include the said persons and/or organizations (representatives of the said organizations) and by other natural persons and legal entities acting on the request or on the instructions of the said persons and organizations. The said persons and organizations shall not ask other natural persons and legal entities to provide material and financial aid or services to voters and organizations. Natural persons and legal entities shall not carry on charity activities on behalf or in support of candidates, electoral associations and electoral blocs which nominated candidates, their authorized representatives, members and authorized representatives of initiative groups of voters which nominated candidates.

ARTICLE 36. Collection of Signatures in Support of a Candidate

1. An electoral association, electoral bloc, initiative voters' group which nominated a candidate shall collect not less than a million signatures in his/her support. Not more than seventy thousand signatures of voters who permanently or currently reside in the territory of the given Subject of the Russian Federation may be collected in any one Subject of the Russian Federation. If signatures are collected among voters who permanently or currently reside outside the territory of the Russian Federation, the total number of such signatures shall not exceed seventy thousand.

2. Collection of signatures in support of a candidate shall start from the day of registration of authorized representatives of an electoral association, electoral bloc, initiative voters' group. Collection of voter signatures before registration of authorized representatives shall not be allowed.

3. Signature sheets shall be made up according to a form shown in Annexes 1 and 2 to this Federal Law.

4. When voter signatures are collected, each signature sheet shall indicate the first, middle and last name of the candidate, his/her date of birth, main place of work or service and position (occupation, if there is no main place of work or service), place of residence of the candidate (the Subject of the Russian Federation, raion, town, city or other populated center) and the initiator of the candidate's nomination. If a candidate has a conviction that has not expired or has not been cancelled, the signature sheet shall indicate the number (numbers) and the name (names) of the article (articles) of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation on the basis of which the candidate was convicted and the article (articles) of the criminal code adopted in accordance with the Fundamental Criminal Legislation of the USSR and the Union republics, the article (articles) of the law of a foreign state and the name of the law, if the candidate was convicted under these legislative acts for actions qualified as crimes by the current Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. If the candidate has Russian Federation and foreign citizenship, the signature sheet shall indicate this fact along with the name of the corresponding foreign state. Each signature sheet shall indicate the name of the Subject of the Russian Federation in which signatures are collected and, if signatures of Russian Federation citizens are collected outside the Russian Federation, the name of the corresponding foreign state.

5. The signature sheet shall also indicate the membership of the candidate in the public association, which the candidate indicated in his/her statement of consent to run in accordance with Clause 7 Article 33 or Clause 11 Article 34 of this Federal Law, and his/her status in this public association.

6. Participation of the governing bodies of organizations of all forms of ownership, institutions in the collection of signatures shall not be allowed. It shall be prohibited to resort to coercion in order to force voters to put their signatures, to remunerate them in any manner for doing so and to collect voter signatures when and where wages and salaries are paid or charity is given. Gross or repeated violation of these bans may serve as a reason for invalidating the collected signatures and/or denying registration of a candidate, canceling registration of a registered candidate.

7. Collection of voter signatures may be carried out by adult competent citizens of the Russian Federation. A candidate may sign a contract with a signature collector for collection of voter signatures. Payment for this work shall be made only through the electoral fund of a candidate.

8. Voter signatures may be collected at the place of work, service, study, residence and in other places where signature collection and election campaigning are not prohibited by federal laws.

9. Voters may put their signature in support of several candidates but only once in support of the same candidate. A voter shall put his/her signature on the signature sheet, mark the corresponding date and write the following data: his/her first, middle and last name, year of birth (if the voter is 18 years old as of the day when he/she signs the signature list, also the day and month of birth), place of residence, series and number of the passport or an equivalent identity paper and the date of its issuance. The data of voters who put their signatures in support of a candidate may be written on the signature sheet by the signature collector. This data shall not be written otherwise than by hand.

10. During collection of voter signatures the signature sheet may be completed both on the face and on the back. The back shall be continuation of the face which together with the back shall have a single consecutive numeration of signatures. The certifying signatures shall be put on the back of the signature sheet.

11. The signature sheet shall be certified by the signature collector, who shall, with his/her own hand, write his/her first, middle and last name, address of the place of residence, series and number of the passport or an equivalent identity paper and the date of its issuance, sign the signature sheet and mark the date whet it was signed, and by an authorized representative of the electoral association, electoral bloc, initiative voters' group which nominated the candidate, who shall sign the sheet and mark the date with his/her own hand against his/her first, middle and last name.

12. After collection of voter signatures has been completed authorized representatives of an electoral association, electoral bloc, initiative voters' group which nominated a candidate shall count the number of collected signatures separately for each Subject of the Russian Federation where signatures were collected, the number of the collected signatures of voters residing outside the Russian Federation and the total number of signatures. The counts shall be entered in a protocol of the results of signature collection, which shall be signed by authorized representatives of the electoral association, electoral bloc, initiative voters' group.

13. In the event of the early or repeat election of the President of the Russian Federation the number of voter signatures indicated in Clause 1 of this Article shall be reduced by half.

ARTICLE 37. Submission of Electoral Documents for Registration of Candidates

1. For registration of a candidate the candidate or an authorized representative of the electoral association, electoral bloc, initiative voters' group shall, not earlier than 90 days and not later than 55 days prior to voting day, submit the following electoral documents to the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation before 18.00 hours, Moscow time:

(a) signature sheets with voter signatures collected in support of nomination of the candidate;

(b) a protocol of signature collection results on a paper medium, in duplicate, and on a machine-readable medium according to a form established by the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation;

(c) information about changes in the candidate's data submitted earlier in pursuance of Clauses 5 and 7 Article 33 and Clause 11 Article 34 of this Federal Law;

(d) the first financial report of the candidate.

2. Signature sheets submitted to the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation shall be numbered and bound into files according to the Subjects of the Russian Federation, foreign states where signatures were collected.

3. The number of voter signatures in support of a candidate submitted to the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation may be larger than the number of signatures required for registration under this Federal Law but shall not exceed this number by not more than 15 percent.

4. When accepting electoral documents the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation shall certify each file containing signature sheets with the seal of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation, make sure that the number of the submitted signature sheets corresponds to the number indicated in the protocol of the results of voter signature collection and then issue to the candidate or an authorized representative of the electoral association, electoral bloc, initiative voters' group a written receipt certifying the acceptance of the signature sheets and indicating the number of accepted signature sheets, the stated number of signatures, the date and time of acceptance of the signature lists. The Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation shall not restrict admission to the commission's premises for a candidate, an authorized representative of an electoral association, electoral bloc, initiative voters' group which nominated candidates nor shall it refuse to accept from these persons the electoral documents required for registration if the documents were delivered before expiration of the time indicated in Clause 1 of this Article.

ARTICLE 38. Verification of the Data Contained in Signature Sheets and Information Submitted by Candidates, Electoral Associations, Electoral Blocs, Initiative Voters' Groups

1. The Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation shall check to make sure that nomination of a candidate was carried out in conformity with the requirements of this Federal Law and shall verify the data contained in the signature sheets in support of the candidate for each electoral association, electoral bloc, initiative voters' group which submitted the documents required by this Federal Law. The Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation may verify the biographical data and other information submitted by candidates, electoral associations, electoral blocs, initiative groups of voters which nominated candidates in accordance with this Federal Law.

2. The Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation, other election commissions may request appropriate bodies to verify the data and information submitted in accordance with this Federal Law, and these bodies shall inform the election commission about the results of the verification within the time established by the election commission. In the period which ends ten days prior to voting day this time shall not exceed ten days.

3. The Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation may, by its decision, form working groups from the members of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation, members of its staff, invited specialists to verify voter signatures and the accompanying data contained in the signature sheets. Such verification may be carried out with the involvement of members of lower-level election commissions, experts from among specialists of the internal-affairs agencies, juridical bodies of the Russian Federation, military commissariats, and other specialized institutions and organizations in charge of registration of the population in the Russian Federation. As a result of their conclusions the data in signature sheets may be pronounced unauthentic. In order to establish the authenticity of the data contained in signature sheets the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation may use the State Registry of Voters, Referendum Participants.

4. Verification shall cover not less than 20 percent of the number of voter signatures in support of each candidate required for the registration of a candidate and the accompanying data of voters who put their signatures in signature sheets.

5. An equal number of signatures collected in support of each candidate shall be sampled for initial verification. Signature sheets to be subjected to selective verification shall be chosen by random sampling (by lot). The random sampling procedure shall be determined by the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation. Lot-drawing and verification of signature sheets may be witnessed by a candidate, an authorized representative of the candidate for financial matters, an authorized representative of the electoral association, electoral bloc, initiative voters' group. Lot-drawing shall be held directly after issuance of a written confirmation of the acceptance of the signature sheets. The Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation shall inform in advance the aforementioned persons of the time appointed for verification of the collected signatures. The Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation shall not deny other persons sent by a candidate, electoral association, electoral bloc, initiative voters' group a possibility to be present at signature verification. Verification shall cover all signatures on the signature sheets chosen for verification and the accompanying data.

6. On the basis of verification of the signatures and the data contained in signature sheets a voter signature may be pronounced authentic or unauthentic or invalid.

7. The signatures and the accompanying data entered in signature sheets but deleted (stricken out) by nominators of a candidate before the signature sheets were submitted to the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation shall not be verified or counted if the nominators have made a special note to confirm the deletion.

8. If verification of signature sheets reveals several signatures put by one person in support of the nomination of the same candidate, only one signature shall be deemed authentic and the remaining signatures shall be pronounced unauthentic.

9. The following signatures shall be pronounced unauthentic:

(a) signatures of persons who do not have a right to active suffrage in the given Subject of the Russian Federation and signatures of voters who indicated wrong data in signature sheets. In this case, a signature shall be pronounced unauthentic if an official conclusion was received from an internal affairs body or an expert involved in the verification of signatures in accordance with Clause 3 of this Article;

(b) voter signatures which are not accompanied by some of the data required under this Federal Law or are not dated by the voter who put his/her signature on the signature sheet

(d) voter signatures accompanied by voter data which are not hand-written or are written with a pencil;

(e) voter signatures with the signing date corrected by voters and by persons certifying signature sheets if the corrections are not expressly endorsed by the voter or the person certifying signature sheets, respectively, as well as voter signatures with the signing date written by persons other than the voter;

(f) voter signatures with corrections in the accompanying voter data if the corrections are not expressly endorsed by the voter or the person certifying the signature sheets;

(g) all signatures on a signature sheet if the signature sheet is not certified by an autograph signature of the signature collector and/or an authorized representative of the electoral association, electoral bloc, initiative voters' group or if this signature is unauthentic or if the data of the signature collector, the signing date put by the signature collector, the authorized representative of the electoral association, electoral bloc, initiative voters' group were corrected and the corrections are not expressly endorsed by, respectively, the signature collector, the authorized representative of the electoral association, electoral bloc, initiative voters' group.

10. Signatures written in the name of several persons by one person or in the name of one person by another person shall be pronounced unauthentic on the basis of a written conclusion of an expert involved in verification of signatures in accordance with Clause 3 of this Article.

11. The following signatures shall be pronounced invalid:

(a) voter signatures put on a signature sheet before the date on which authorized representatives of an electoral association, electoral bloc, initiative voters' group which nominated the candidate were registered by the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation;

(b) signatures found invalid on the basis of Clause 6 Article 36 of this Federal Law;

(c) voter signatures if voter data were written on signature sheets not by voters who put their signatures and not by persons who collected signatures appearing on the given signature sheet - on the basis of a written conclusion of an expert engaged for verification of signatures in accordance with Clause 3 of this Article;

(d) all signatures on a signature sheet which does not meet the requirements set forth in Annexes 1 and 2 to this Federal Law.

12. If a filled-in line (lines) is (are) discovered on the signature sheet, which does (do) not meet the requirements of this Federal Law, only the signature in the given line ((lines) shall be disregarded, except as provided by Clause 8, Sub-clause «d» Clause 9 and Sub-clause «d» Clause 11 of this Article.

13. Corrections and blots expressly endorsed when a signature sheet was made up shall not be a reason for pronouncing a signature unauthentic when signatures are verified or counted, unless the signature is found unauthentic in accordance with Clauses 8 and 9 of this Article.

14. If the number of signatures found to be unauthentic in the course of selective verification exceeds 15 percent of the number of signatures selected for verification, an additional 10 per cent of the number of voter signatures required for registration shall be subjected to verification in a procedure set forth in this article.

15. If the total number of unauthentic and invalid signatures discovered in the course of selective verification exceeds 15 percent of the total number of signatures subject to verification under Clauses 5 and 14 of this Article, further verification of the signature sheets shall be discontinued and the candidate shall not be registered.

16. Neither shall a candidate be registered if the number of submitted voter signatures minus the number of signatures found unauthentic and invalid is insufficient for registration.

17. After the end of verification of signature sheets a protocol of verification results shall be drawn up for each candidate. The protocol shall be signed by the head of the working group - a voting member of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation and shall be submitted to the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation for adoption of an appropriate decision. The protocol shall indicate the stated number of voter signatures in support of a candidate; the number of submitted voter signatures; the number of signatures subjected to verification; the number of signatures found to be unauthentic and invalid and the reasons therefor. This protocol shall be appended to the appropriate decision of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation. No changes shall be made in the protocol after the decision has been taken by the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation. A copy of the protocol shall be given to the candidate or to an authorized representatives of the electoral association, electoral bloc, initiative voters' group not less than 12 hours prior to the meeting of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation at which registration of the candidate is to be considered. If the number of authentic signatures has been found to be insufficient or if more than 15 percent of voter signatures subjected to verification have been found to be unauthentic and invalid, the candidate or an authorized representative of the electoral association, electoral bloc, initiative voters' group may receive from the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation the protocol and a copy of the verification report certified by the head of the working group. The report shall set forth the reasons why voter signatures were pronounced unauthentic and invalid and indicate the number of the file, the number of the signature sheet and the number of the line on the signature sheet wherein each such signature in contained.

ARTICLE 39. Registration of a Candidate

1. Not later than ten days after acceptance of signature sheets and other documents required for registration of a candidate the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation shall either register the candidate or take a motivated decision to refuse registration of a candidate. If the registered candidate was nominated by an electoral association, electoral bloc, the decision of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation shall mention that the candidate has been nominated by an electoral association, electoral bloc. The decision to register a candidate shall indicate the date and time of the registration.

2. If a candidate, registered candidate uses a pseudonym in his/her creative activity or if there are persons bearing the same surnames among the candidates, registered candidates, the said candidate, registered candidate may, within five days after the deadline for the submission of documents for registration of candidates to the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation, register his/her creative pseudonym with the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation and, if there is another person bearing the same surname, any pseudonym which he/she may use in the course of election campaigning along with his/her true first, middle and last name. The pseudonym of a candidate, registered candidate shall be indicated, along with the true first, middle and last name, in all official documents (including information documents) and in other materials issued by the election commissions. Such a pseudonym shall not be the name or the already registered pseudonym of some other candidate, registered candidate.

3. Having taken a decision to refuse registration of a candidate, the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation shall, within 24 hours after the decision was taken, issue a copy of this decision stating the reasons for the refusal to the candidate or to an authorized representative of the electoral association, electoral bloc, initiative voters' group which nominated the candidate. The reasons for the refusal may be as follows:

(a) essential violation of the signature collecting procedure established by this Federal Law;

(b) absence or improper execution of the documents indicated in Articles 33, 34 and 37 of this Federal Law;

(c) insufficient number of submitted authentic voter signatures in support of the candidate or the proportion of unauthentic and invalid signatures found among the signatures subjected to verification exceeding 15 percent;

(d) inaccuracy of the information submitted by the candidate in accordance with this Federal Law, if the inaccuracy is essential, including failure to declare the income exceeding by more than 200 times the minimum monthly wage established by the federal law as of the day of official publication of the decision to call (hold) the election of the President of the Russian Federation, if such income accounts for more than 10 percent of the income declared in accordance with this Federal Law; failure to declare apartments, houses, land plots, air, sea, river craft, an enterprise (a part thereof) owned by the candidate; failure to declare a deposit (deposits, a part of the deposit) in settlement accounts exceeding by more than 200 times the minimum monthly wage established by the federal law as of the day of official publication of the decision to call (hold) the election of the President of the Russian Federation if this deposit exceeds by more than 10 percent the amount of the deposit (deposits) in the settlement accounts declared under this Federal Law.

(e) essential violation of the rules for the formation and expenditure of the electoral fund of the candidate;

(f) violation of Clause 6 Article 35 of this Federal Law by the candidate, the electoral association, electoral bloc, initiative voters' group which nominated the candidate and their authorized representatives;

(g) other reasons provided by this Federal Law.

4. Upon discovery of an offence which entails criminal or administrative liability the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation shall hand over appropriate electoral documents and other materials to law enforcement bodies to bring to responsibility the persons guilty of violation of this Federal Law.

5. If the inaccuracy of the information submitted by a candidate in pursuance of Articles 33, 34 and 37 of this Federal Law has been established after registration of the candidate and this inaccuracy is essential, the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation may, not later than 16 days prior to voting day, annul the decision to register the candidate or, 15 days to 1 day prior to voting day, apply to a court for annulment of the candidate's registration.

6. The decision of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation to register a candidate or to refuse his/her registration may be appealed in the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation. The appeal shall be adjudicated within five days.

7. A certificate of registration shall be issued to each registered candidate, indicating the date and time of registration. Within 48 hours after registration the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation shall release the data about the registered candidates to the mass media. Not later than 15 days prior to voting day territorial election commissions shall display information about registered candidates on bulletin boards inside their premises; the said information shall contain the data listed in Clauses 5 and 7 Article 33 and Clause 11 Article 34 of this Federal Law. The same procedure shall be used to announce information about annulment of registration of registered candidates, changes in the membership of electoral blocs which nominated registered candidates. The information concerning registered candidates shall be arranged in the same order as on ballots.

8. If, 45 days prior to voting day, less than two candidates are registered, the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation shall take a decision to postpone the election for a period of up to 60 days for additional nomination of candidates and performance of subsequent electoral actions.

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ПУБЛИКАЦИИ ИРИС

СРЕДСТВА МАССОВОЙ ИНФОРМАЦИИ (СМИ) И ПАРЛАМЕНТСКИЕ ВЫБОРЫ 1999 ГОДА В РОССИИ

Автор: МФИС-ИРИС
Форма выпуска: Книга

Сборник статей. Издание подготовлено МФИС и ИРИС совместно с Национальным институтом прессы, в сотрудничестве с ЦИК РФ. – М.: «Права человека», 1999. – 140 с

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