18 Mar 2020 13:09

Nationwide voting on constitutional amendments in Russia may be postponed over coronavirus - CEC Chair Pamfilova

MOSCOW. March 18 (Interfax) - The nationwide voting on amendments to the Russian constitution may be postponed to a later date from April 22, if the coronavirus pandemic continues to worsen, Russian Central Elections Commission (CEC) Chairperson Ella Pamfilova said.

"I'd like to stress that nobody is going to arrange the voting amid the unfolding pandemic. If the situation becomes clear closer to April 22, and if the relevant agencies, including [consumer protection watchdog] Rospotrebnadzor and the country's leadership, having weighed all the risks, decide that the voting needs to be postponed, we stand ready for that," Pamfilova said at a CEC meeting on Wednesday.

The president could not sign a decree designating the vote without setting a date for it, otherwise the CEC "wouldn't have had the legal grounds to do what we are obliged to do to prepare and organize the nationwide voting," she said.