Parliament name (generic / translated) |
Federalnoye Sobraniye / Federal Assembly |
Structure of parliament |
Bicameral |
Chamber name (generic / translated) |
Gossoudarstvennaya Duma / State Duma |
Related chamber (for bicameral parliaments) |
Soviet Federatsii / Council of the Federation
|
LEGAL FRAMEWORK |
Electoral Law |
1 October 1993 Last amendment: 21.10.2011 |
Mode of designation |
directly elected 450 |
Constituencies |
- One nationwide constituency for 450 seats |
Voting system |
Proportional:
- 450 Deputies selected on the basis of party-list proportional representation with the country as a whole considered as one nationwide constituency, using the Hare method (the simple quotient and greatest remainders) for the distribution of remaining seats.
Only the parties that pass the 7-per-cent electoral threshold are entitled to parliamentary representation.
Exceptionally, parties that receive between 5 and 6 per cent of the votes are entitled to one seat and those that receive between 6 and 7 per cent are entitled to two seats. However, the candidates elected under these exceptional measures are not allowed to join any parliamentary faction.
Amendments adopted in 2011 and due to come into effect on 1 January 2013 lower the threshold to 5 per cent.
- Vacancies arising between general elections are filled by "next-in-line" candidates on the same party list.
- Voting is not compulsory. |
Voter requirements |
- Russian citizenship
- Age: 18 years
- Disqualifications: legal incompetency; imprisonment following criminal conviction |
CANDIDATES |
Eligibility |
- Qualified voters
- Russian citizenship
- Age: 21 years
Ineligibilities: holding office or engaging in an activity deemed incompatible with parliamentary status |
Incompatibilities |
(not applicable) |
Candidacy requirements |
- Candidatures must be submitted no later than 45 days before polling day by registered political parties (up to 50% of each list can be made up of candidates who are not members of the party concerned);
- Parties represented in the outgoing legislature, as well as those represented in the regional parliaments in at least one-third of the constituent parts of the Russian Federation, can field candidates without collecting signatures;
- Parties not represented in the outgoing legislature must collect 150,000 signatures. |