You're reading: Russia’s State Duma election

Russia holds an election on Sunday to the State Duma, the lower chamber of the national parliament. Following are key facts about the election and the State Duma.

THE VOTE: Russians will select all 450 State Duma deputies under a proportional representation system in a single nationwide constituency. Voters will choose among seven registered political parties on the ballot.

Duma seats will be awarded on a proportional basis to all parties that receive at least 7 percent of the valid votes cast. In addition, any party that receives between 6 percent and 7 percent is allotted two seats, and any party that receives between 5 percent and 6 percent is allotted one seat.

Parties winning representation fill their allotted seats from national and regional candidate lists published before the election. Any candidate may decline to take his or seat, in which case the seat goes to the next candidate on the list.

THE VOTERS: Russian citizens aged 18 or older have the right to vote unless they are in prison or have been deemed incompetent by a court. The number of registered voters as of July 1, 2011, was 109,983,274 — just under 110 million.

There are about 95,000 polling places in Russia, and Russians can vote in most countries abroad.

THE TIMING: Voting on Sunday takes place from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. local time across Russia, which has nine time zones. The first polls open in its Far East at 12:00 a.m. Moscow time (2000 GMT on Saturday) and the last polls close in Kaliningrad, its westernmost territory, at 9 p.m. Moscow time (0100 GMT).

THE PARTIES: There are seven parties on the ballot. United Russia, the Communist Party, the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) and Just Russia already hold seats. Yabloko, Patriots of Russia and Right Cause do not currently hold seats.

THE STATE DUMA:
The State Duma is the lower chamber of Russia’s bicameral national parliament, the Federal Assembly. The Duma elected on Sunday will serve for five years.

Its members consider legislation initiated within the Duma or submitted by the Russian president or government.

Most bills are subject to three votes in the full chamber and go the upper house, the Federation Council, after they are passed by the Duma.

Bills passed by the upper house are subject to the approval of the president before they become law.

Treaties with foreign countries are also subject to ratification by the State Duma, which approves or rejects the corresponding legislation.

OUTGOING DUMA: The outgoing Duma was elected in December 2007 and held its final session on Nov. 23. It consists of four parties: United Russia, with 315 seats, the Communist Party, 57 seats; the LDPR, with 40 seats; and Just Russia, with 38 seats.