President Dmitry Medvedev said Wednesday that he will submit a bill to the State Duma to reform its current structure.
While meeting leaders of registered parties, Medvedev said he planned to submit a new bill that would take effect in time for the next parliamentary elections to be held in six years. The bill hadn't been submitted by press time and details of what it contained were not immediately clear.
According to earlier comments by Medvedev, if passed, the bill will restructure the State Duma with proportional representation for 225 electoral districts, with each having a representative in the parliament. Under the current law, the Duma is formed with tickets parties compose ahead of the vote.
The bill was first announced by Medvedev in his state-of-the-nation address in December among other proposals to bring more freedom to Russia's political life.
Earlier bills still pending before the Duma propose to restore direct gubernatorial elections and simplify the registration of political parties, allowing participation in parliamentary and regional legislature elections without requiring the collection of supporters' signatures.
Medvedev also said he plans to meet representatives of unregistered political parties to discuss the future political reforms, but did not specify who would be invited.
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