Candidate

In Russia, there are two ways to nominate a candidate for deputy of the State Duma (parliament) - from an electoral association or through self-nomination.

Self-nomination

This method provides for independent nomination of candidates within 20 calendar days from the date of the official publication of the election resolution. At this stage, candidates for deputies submit to the election commission:

• self-nomination notice;
• an application that contains consent to run;
• copy of passport, other documents;
• reliable information about income, securities, deposits with banks, etc.

The Central Election Commission of Russia will not include a candidate in the list of candidates in case of concealment:

• The fact of an unexpunged or outstanding conviction.
• The fact of non-compliance with restrictions during the campaign period.
• Availability of registration information in another federal list of candidates.
• The presence of other factors that contradict the current legislation of Russia.

A person who has reached the age of 21 years, has not been declared legally incapable, is not detained in prison, has no criminal record, and he must also be a citizen of Russia . Registration of candidates for deputies is preceded by the collection of signatures from voters in their support or by making an electoral deposit. If the future deputy received a notification from the election commission about his nomination, the next day he can collect signatures in support of his candidacy. Subsequently, these signed sheets must be submitted to the election commission. There is a time limit, according to the current legislation - no later than twenty days after the publication of the election resolution.

The election commission will verify the authenticity of the signed sheets that will be provided to her by the person who wants to run. After that, she will decide on the registration of the candidate or on refusal within ten days. The decision of the CEC of Russia on the formation of a list of candidates may be challenged in the Supreme Court of the country. The legislature will issue a decision within five days from the receipt of the complaint.

From the moment of a positive response from the election commission, the candidate has the full right to campaign among voters. There are a number of exceptions to agitation: the law prohibits bribery of voters, delivery of gifts, and so on. Campaigning ends at 00:00 Moscow time one day before the vote (until the day of silence ) ^[1] .

Political Party Nomination

The decision to nominate a federal list of candidates is made by secret ballot at a congress of a political party, and the procedure for including candidates on the federal list of candidates and the procedure for secret voting are determined by the charter of the political party. The nomination of a federal list of candidates at a congress of a political party is carried out within 25 days after the day of the official publication of the decision on the election of deputies of the State Duma.

The federal list of candidates nominated by a political party may include both members of this party and citizens who are not members of the party. Citizens who are members of other political blocs cannot be included in the federal list of candidates. The federal list of candidates should have at least 200 and no more than 400, regional groups of candidates should be at least 35.

The federal list of candidates may be divided into federal and regional parts. The regional part includes regional groups of candidates. In the absence of a federal part in the federal list of candidates, the whole list is divided into regional groups of candidates. The regional part of the federal list of candidates should cover the entire territory of the Russian Federation.

The federal part of the federal list of candidates may include no more than ten candidates. The federal list of candidates may include candidates nominated by a political party in single-member constituencies ^[2] .

Candidates for Deputies of the State Duma of Russia

A candidate for deputy of the State Duma of Russia has the following rights ^[3] :

• The candidate has personal inviolability, that is, he cannot be prosecuted or arrested without the consent of the Prosecutor General of Russia.
• The candidate is exempted from work, military service and military fees.
• A candidate may not be: dismissed from work on the initiative of the employer; transferred without his consent to another job or position or sent on a business trip; called up for military service and military training.
• The candidate is paid a certain number of trips by public transport.
• A candidate may have a certain number of proxies.