11 June 2004 00:44
Group of deputies to contest adopted referendum bill (Part 2)
MOSCOW. June 11 (Interfax) - A group of State Duma deputies plan to file a complaint with the Constitutional Court to
protest the way the State Duma passed the president's referendum bill on Friday, independent deputy Vladimir
Ryzhkov said.
Ryzhkov announced plans to start collecting the signatures of
deputies who disagree with the way the bill was adopted. He needs a
The referendum bill was adopted both in the second and third readings simultaneously. All amendments were
rejected.
minimum of 90 signatures.
The bill was rushed through parliament in ten days, Ryzhkov said, adding that it was considered in the first reading
on June 2. "Several dozen amendments, mostly put forward by the Communist Party, were lost," he said.
"Russia has not held a referendum for ten years, and there will be no referendum for another one hundred,"
the deputy said.
Describing the law as unconstitutional, Ryzhkov said that it will now make it much more difficult to hold referendums
by creating additional bureaucratic barriers.
This law has effectively left the population without any chance of initiating and holding referendums, while the
president does not even need to collect the 2 million signatures required by the law. [RU EUROPE EEU EMRG POL LEG] tm aw
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[Interfax] |
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