Duma adopts bill that resets number of served presidential terms to zero
MOSCOW. March 24 (Interfax) - The bill harmonizing Russian elections and referenda laws with the constitutional amendments passed the third, final reading in the State Duma on Wednesday.
The bill clarifies the existent restrictions on serving more than two terms of presidential office.
For instance, Law No. 19-FZ "On Elections of the Russian President" says at a Russian citizen who has served two terms of office as the president or is serving his second term as the president on the day of the official publishing of the resolution on holding a Russian presidential election has no right to be reelected.
At the same time, the bill does not count the number of presidential terms served by the person previously and/or at the moment of the entry into force of the relevant constitutional amendment.
The Law on Elections of the Russian President has also been augmented with a constitutional clause, according to which a Russian citizen aged 35 and up, who has permanently resided in Russia for at least 25 years and who has no foreign citizenship or residence permit or other document allowing permanent residence abroad could be elected the president of Russia.
The requirement of absence of foreign citizenship does not apply to Russian citizens "who earlier had the citizenship of a country incorporated into the Russian Federation either fully or partially."
In addition, the bill expands the list of grounds that prevent a Russian citizen from being elected a State Duma deputy with crimes, which a citizen is convicted of and sentenced to imprisonment for unless such convictions are expunged or served as of the voting date. The restriction stays in effect for five years since the date of the served or expunged conviction.
The bill is authored by Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Constitutional Legislation Andrei Klishas, and Chairman of the State Duma Committee on State Building and Legislation Pavel Krasheninnikov, and Chairperson of the State Duma Committee on Control and Regulations Olga Savastyanova.