Home > 6 Political parties > RUSSIAN FEDERATION - Federal Law on Elections of Deputies to the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation
 
 
 
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Article 33
 

1. Each political party which has registered its federal lists of candidates as well as each candidate registered in a single-mandate electoral district shall be entitled to delegate observers.


2. A citizen of the Russian Federation who possesses an active electoral right shall be entitled to be an observer. Persons holding elected public offices, deputies, top officials of the subject of the Russian Federation (heads of top state executive bodies of the subjects of the Russian Federation), heads of local administration, their immediate subordinates, judges, prosecutors and voting members of election commissions shall not be observers, except for members of election commissions, whose powers have been suspended in accordance with paragraph 7 of Article 29 of the Federal Law "On Basic Guarantees". (As amended by Federal Law No 29-FZ of 15.02.2016.)


3. The status of the observer shall be certified in written form in credentials issued by a political party registered the federal list of candidates, candidate registered in a respective single-mandate electoral district or her/his proxy. The credentials shall contain the observer’s surname, first name and patronymic, residence address, the polling station number, title of the election commission to which she/he is delegated, as well as declaration of non-applicability of the restrictions imposed by part 2 of this Article. No additional information about the observer shall be required. The credentials shall be deemed valid provided a passport or an equivalent identity document is presented. (As amended by Federal Law No 29-FZ of 15.02.2016.)


3.1. A political party, registered candidate, which appointed observers to the precinct commissions no later than three days before the voting day (day of early voting), shall present a list of the designated observers to the corresponding TEC. This list shall indicate the surname, name and patronymic of each observer, the address of his place of residence, the polling station number, name of the election commission. (Introduced by Federal Law No 29-FZ of 15.02.2016.)


4. The credentials referred to in part 3 of this Article may be presented to a precinct election commission in the day before the voting day (day of early voting) or on the voting day (early voting day). Credential can be presented to the precinct election commission only by an observer, indicated in the list provided for by paragraph 3.1 of this article. (As amended by Federal Law No 29-FZ of 15.02.2016.)


5. A political party registered a federal list of candidates; candidate registered on the respective single-mandate electoral district shall be entitled to delegate no more than 2 observers with a right to observe in turns to each precinct election commission. The same person can be appointed as an observer only to one election commission. Establishing other restrictions than those specified in the present Federal law on the presence of observers in the premises of the election commission, the polling station, observation of voting, counting of votes, drawing up protocols on the voting results, as well as the issuance of copies of these protocols is not allowed. (As amended by Federal Law No 29- FZ of 15.02.2016.)


6. An observer shall be entitled to:


1) familiarize oneself with the voter list, register of issuance of absentee vote certificates, absentee vote certificates lodged with the election commission, register of applications (requests) for mobile voting;


2) be present at the polling premises of a respective polling station on the voting day, on day of early voting at any time during the period specified in part 5 of Article 32 of this Federal Law;


3) observe the issuance of ballots to voters;


4) be present during the mobile voting;


5) observe the calculation of voters entered to the voter list, of ballots issued to voters, of cancelled ballots and cancelled absentee vote certificates;


6) observe the vote count at the distance and under conditions which enable him/her to see the voter marks made on the ballots;


7) look at any completed or uncompleted ballot during the vote count as well as observe the completion of the vote returns protocol and other documents during the period specified in part 5 of Article 32 of this Federal Law;


8) address proposals and remarks on matters of voting organization to the precinct election commission chair or, in the event of his/her absence, to a person acting as his/her deputy;


9) familiarize oneself with the protocols of voting results, of election results, with the attached documents, receive copies thereof certified by respective election commissions, provided such protocols are completed by the commission to which the observer is delegated or by immediate lower-level commissions;


10) appeal decisions and actions (inactions) of an election commission to which he/she is delegated in the immediate higher-level election commission or a court;


11) be present during the vote recount in respective election commissions.


12) carry out in the polling station (from the place, which is defined by the chair of the Precinct Election Commission) photo and (or) video recording, preliminary notifying the chair, deputy chair or secretary of the precinct election commission.


7. An observer shall not:


1) issue ballots to voters;


2) sign on behalf of a voter, even at his/her request, for the receipt of a ballot;


3) complete a ballot on behalf of a voter, even at his/her request;


4) act in a way that violates the secrecy of the vote;


5) be immediately involved in the ballot counting performed by the voting members of election commission;


6) interfere with the work of an election commission;


7) campaign among voters; 8) participate in the decision-making process of election commission.