Constitution of the Russian Federation (1993, as amended 2001) (excerpts related to elections) (English)
THE CONSTITUTION OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
(Adopted on 25 December 1993, with amendments of 09.01.1996, 10.02.1996 and 09.06.2001)
CHAPTER 1. THE FUNDAMENTALS OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL SYSTEM
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Article 3
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2. The people shall exercise their power directly, and also through the bodies of state power and local self-government.
3. The supreme direct expression of the power of the people shall be referenda and free elections.
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Article 13
1. In the Russian Federation ideological diversity shall be recognized.
2. No ideology may be established as state or obligatory one.
3. In the Russian Federation political diversity and multi-party system shall be recognized.
4. Public associations shall be equal before the law.
5. The creation and activities of public associations whose aims and actions are aimed at a forced change of the fundamental principles of the constitutional system and at violating the integrity of the Russian Federation, at undermining its security, at setting up armed units, and at instigating social, racial, national and religious strife shall be prohibited.
CHAPTER 2. RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS OF MAN AND CITIZEN
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Article 19
1. All people shall be equal before the law and court.
2. The State shall guarantee the equality of rights and freedoms of man and citizen, regardless of sex, race, nationality, language, origin, property and official status, place of residence, religion, convictions, membership of public associations, and also of other circumstances. All forms of limitations of human rights on social, racial, national, linguistic or religious grounds shall be banned.
3. Man and woman shall enjoy equal rights and freedoms and have equal possibilities to exercise them.
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Article 29
1. Everyone shall be guaranteed the freedom of ideas and speech.
2. The propaganda or agitation instigating social, racial, national or religious hatred and strife shall not be allowed. The propaganda of social, racial, national, religious or linguistic supremacy shall be banned.
3. No one may be forced to express his views and convictions or to reject them.
4. Everyone shall have the right to freely look for, receive, transmit, produce and distribute information by any legal way. The list of data comprising state secrets shall be determined by a federal law.
5. The freedom of mass communication shall be guaranteed. Censorship shall be banned.
Article 30
1. Everyone shall have the right to association, including the right to create trade unions for the protection of his or her interests. The freedom of activity of public association shall be guaranteed.
2. No one may be compelled to join any association and remain in it.
Article 31
Citizens of the Russian Federation shall have the right to assemble peacefully, without weapons, hold rallies, meetings and demonstrations, marches and pickets.
Article 32
1. Citizens of the Russian Federation shall have the right to participate in managing state affairs both directly and through their representatives.
2. Citizens of the Russian Federation shall have the right to elect and be elected to state bodies of power and local self-government bodies, and also to participate in referenda.
3. Deprived of the right to elect and be elected shall be citizens recognized by court as legally unfit, as well as citizens kept in places of confinement by a court sentence.
4. Citizens of the Russian Federation shall enjoy equal access to the state service.
5. Citizens of the expenditures shall have the right to participate in administering justice.
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Article 60
A citizen of the Russian Federation may exercise his or her rights and duties in full from the age of 18.
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CHAPTER 4. THE PRESIDENT OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
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Article 81
1. The President of the Russian Federation shall be elected for four years by citizens of the Russian Federation on the basis of universal, equal, direct suffrage by secret ballot.
2. Any citizen of the Russian Federation not younger than 35 years of age and with a permanent residence record in the Russian Federation of not less than 10 years may be elected President of the Russian Federation.
3. One and the same person may not be elected President of the Russian Federation for more than two terms running.
4. The rules of electing the President of the Russian Federation shall determined by the federal law.
Article 84
The President of the Russian Federation shall:
a) announce elections to the State Duma according to the Constitution of the Russian Federation and the federal law;
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c) announce a referendum according to the rules fixed by the federal constitutional law;
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CHAPTER 5. THE FEDERAL ASSEMBLY
Article 96
1. The State Duma shall be elected for a term of four years.
2. The rules of forming the Council of the Federation and the rules of electing deputies to the State Duma shall be introduced federal laws
Article 97
1. A citizen of the Russian Federation over 21 years of age and with the right to participate in elections may be elected deputy of the State Duma.
2. One and the same person may not be simultaneously a member of the Council of the Federation and a deputy of the State Duma. A deputy of the State Duma may not be a deputy of other representative bodies of state authority and local self-government.
3. Deputies of the State Duma shall work on a permanent professional basis. Deputies of the State Duma may not be employed in the state service, engage in other paid activities, except for teaching, scientific and other creative work.
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CHAPTER 8. LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT
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Article 130
1. Local self-government in the Russian Federation shall ensure the independent solution by the population of the issues of local importance, of possession, use and disposal of municipal property.
2. Local self-government shall be exercised by citizens through a referendum, election, other forms of direct expression of the will of the people, through elected and other bodies of local self-government.
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CHAPTER 9. CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS AND REVIEW OF THE CONSTITUTION
Article 135
1. Provisions of Chapters 1, 2 and 9 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation may not be revised by the Federal Assembly.
2. If a proposal on the review of the provisions of Chapters 1, 2 and 9 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation is supported by three fifths of the total number of the members of the Council of the Federation and the deputies of the State Duma, then according to federal constitutional law a Constitutional Assembly shall be convened.
3. The Constitutional Assembly shall either confirm the invariability of the Constitution of the Russian Federation or draft a new Constitution of the Russian Federation, which shall be adopted by the Constitutional Assembly by two thirds of the total number of its members or submitted to a referendum. In case of a referendum the Constitution of the Russian Federation shall be considered adopted, if over half of the voters who came to the polls supported it and under the condition that over half of the electorate participated in the referendum.
Article 136
Amendments to the provisions of Chapters 3-8 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation shall be adopted according to the rules fixed for adoption of federal constitutional laws and come into force after they are approved by the bodies of legislative power of not less than two thirds of the subjects of the Russian Federation.
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