Home > 6.4 Special conditions to participate in the elections > RUSSIAN FEDERATION - Federal Law on Basic Guarantees of Electoral Rights and the Right of Citizens of the Russian Federation to Participate in a Referendum
 
 
 
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Article 40
 

1. Candidates who occupy state or elective municipal offices or are in state or municipal service or who are members of the management bodies of the legal entity, irrespective of the forms of ownership (in the legal entities where the supreme management body is a meeting – by members of the bodies in charge of management of operations of these legal entities), except for political parties, as well as candidates who are officials, journalists, other creative workers of mass media organizations shall not take advantage of their office or official position when conducting their election campaigns.


(in the version of Federal Law of July 21, 2005, # 93-FZ.)


2. Registered candidates who are in state and municipal service or work in mass media organizations shall, for the period of their participation in the election, be relieved from their official duties and shall submit certified copies of relevant orders to the election commission which registered them, within five days of the day of registration,. It may be established by the law of a subject of the Russian Federation that at elections of representative bodies of municipalities, if there is a certain number of voters in an electoral district (which shall not exceed five thousand voters), registered candidates who are in state service shall not be relieved from their official duties. (in the version of Federal Law of July 21, 2005, # 93-FZ.)


3. Became invalid – Federal Law of July 21, 2005, # 93-FZ.


4. In the period of an election campaign, a referendum campaign, persons who are not candidates and occupy state or elective municipal offices or are in state or municipal service or members of the management bodies of the legal entities, irrespective of the form of ownership (in the legal entities where the supreme management body is the meeting – by members of the bodies in charge of management of operations of these entities), except for political parties, shall not take advantage of their offices or official position to promote nomination of a candidate, list of candidates and/or election of candidates, advancement or furthering of a referendum initiative, to obtain a certain answer to the referendum question.


(Section 4 in the version of Federal Law of July 21, 2005, # 93-FZ).


5. Under this Federal Law, taking advantage of an office or official position means:


a) involvement of persons who are subordinate to or otherwise dependent on a candidate in the line of duty, state and municipal employees in activities carried out during the working/service hours to promote nomination and/or election of a candidates/ lists of candidates , advancement or furthering of a referendum initiative, to obtain a certain answer to the referendum question;


b) use of premises occupied by state bodies or bodies of local self-government or legal entities, irrespective of forms of ownership, except for the premises occupied by political parties, for activities promoting nomination and/or election of candidates/ lists of candidates, advancement or furthering of a referendum initiative, obtaining a certain answer to the referendum question, if the provision of the same premises is not guaranteed to other candidates and election associations on the same terms and conditions;


c) use of telephone, fax and other means of telecommunication, office equipment and information services, that ensure operation of state bodies, local authorities, state and municipal institutions, legal entities irrespective of forms of ownership, except for the said types of communications, office equipment and information services that ensure operation of the political parties, for election campaigning, campaigning on the referendum questions;


d) use of state- or municipality-owned transport facilities, property of legal entities, except for vehicles in ownership of political parties, at no charge or reduced charges for activities promoting nomination of candidates/ lists of candidates and/or election of candidates, advancement or furthering of a referendum initiative, obtaining a certain answer to the referendum question. This provision shall not apply to persons using the said transport facilities in accordance with the Russian Federation laws on the security services provided by the state;


e) collection of signatures of voters, referendum participants, election campaigning, campaigning on the referendum questions carried out by persons who occupy state and elective municipal offices or are in state or municipal service or who are heads of local administrations or members of management bodies of legal entities, irrespective of the form of ownership (in the legal entities where the supreme management body is the meeting – by members of the bodies in charge of management of operations of these entities), except for the political parties, during business trips paid for from the appropriate budget, funds of the appropriate legal entity;


f) access/ ensuring access to governmental and municipal mass media for collection of signatures of the voters, the referendum participants, election campaigning, or campaigning on the referendum questions, if other candidates, election associations, groups of referendum participants are not guaranteed with the same access, in accordance with this Federal Law or other law for these purposes


g) propaganda speeches in the period of an election campaign, a referendum campaign, during a public event arranged by a state and/or municipal body, organization, , irrespective of the form of property, other than political parties.


h) publication in the period of election campaign and referendum campaign in mass media, in printed propaganda materials of work progress reports, distribution, on behalf of a citizen who is a candidate, of congratulations or other materials not paid for from the funds of the appropriate election fund.


(Section 5 in the version of Federal Law of July 21, 2005, # 93-FZ)


6. Compliance with the restrictions listed in Section 5 of this article must not prevent deputies, the President of the Russian Federation from exercising their powers and performing their obligations to voters.


7. Officials, journalists and other persons holding creative jobs in mass media organizations, if the said persons are candidates or their trustees or authorized representatives for financial issues, or authorized representatives of election associations, shall be prohibited to participate in the coverage of the election campaign via the mass media.


(Section 7 in the version of Federal Law of July 21, 2005, # 93-FZ).