14 December 2002 11:23
Election official explains procedure for Chechnya referendum
Moscow, 14 December: March, 2003 is viewed as a realistic, optimal time for conducting a referendum on a new
constitution and the franchise of the Chechen republic. Around 529,000 people eligible to vote had been registered in
Chechnya by 1 July 2002, ITAR-TASS was told on Saturday [14 December] by Secretary of the Central Electoral Commission
of the Russian Federation Nina Kulyasova.
The number of potential voters gives an approximate idea of the number of signatures needed in support of the
referendum, she said. Under the law, the number of signatures necessary to hold a referendum should total two per cent
of the overall number of potential voters, or 11,000, the spokeswoman said.
The law permits to collect 25 per cent surplus signatures to add to the number of obligatory signatories approving
the referendum, Kulyasova said. However, an initiative group canvassing for the referendum is allowed to collect
signatures in its support only after the initiative group is officially registered by the Electoral Commission of the
Chechen Republic. After the authenticity of signatures in support of the referendum is confirmed, the Chechen Electoral
Commission is entitled to appoint a date for the referendum.
The Central Electoral Commission is planning to involve both Russian public organizations and foreign observers for
monitoring the planned referendum, Kulyasova said.
[ITAR-TASS news agency] |
RUSSIA IN FACTS
