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Pravda
October 14,
2002
Summary:
Brief news article. Duma
speaker is opposed to changing minimum vote threshold for seats in
Russian parliament before the 2003 elections.
http://english.pravda.ru/politics/2002/10/14/38120.html State Duma Speaker Favors
5 Percent Threshold for Parties in 2003 Parliamentary Elections
October 14, 2002 State Duma Speaker
Gennady Seleznyov speaks in favor of keeping the 5% threshold for
parties at the forthcoming 2003 elections to the State Duma (Lower
House), the Speaker said answering the questions of the press.
Gennady Seleznyov expressed his negative opinion of the "United
Russia" party's initiative to introduce a 12.5% threshold for
parties running for the State Duma. However, he believes that 6 or
7% threshold can be considered as an alternative. "But in any case,
not the 12.5% threshold," emphasized the State Duma Speaker. At the
same time he noted that "he knew no other country in the world with
such a high electoral threshold." Regarding the initiative of the
"Russian Regions" groups representative, Vladimir Lysenko, who
proposed to reduce the threshold for parties running for the State
Duma to 3%, Gennady Seleznyov said that "it was another
alternative." Gennady Seleznyov noted that "all the innovations" to
the electoral law "were possible, but not during the 2003 State Duma
elections." "With one year to go before the elections it wouldn't do
to consider changes to the threshold for running for the State
Duma," he pointed out. |
