MOSCOW, June 21 (Interfax) -- During a referendum slated for this fall on the possibility of re-burying Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin at a cemetery, Russian voters may also be asked to express their position on possible changes in election legislation, the Interfax-AiF weekly says. The aim of possible amendments to election legislation is to abolish parliamentary elections on party tickets, the weekly says. Representatives of a number of small democratic parties believe that this will allow them to get more seats in the State Duma.

At present, to receive seats in the parliament, parties must collect more than 5% of the vote in parliamentary elections. If the question on election legislation is added to the ballot papers, "this combination will ensure a higher voter turnout," the weekly says. "The majority of the population does not want to be bothered by the intricate legal problem (on election legislation) but many people would like to express their attitude toward the one-time (Bolshevik) leader, including both his ardent admirers and vehement opponents," the weekly says. "At the same time, the election system will change if the propaganda campaign is well-organized and voters are convinced that no party tickets are needed because each deputy must be elected according to his own merits."

However, representatives of the Communist faction in the State Duma believe that the abolition of elections on party tickets will not reduce the number of Communists in the parliament's lower chamber.

The idea of holding a referendum on Lenin's re-burial was suggested by Russian President Boris Yeltsin on June 6.

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Johnson's Russia List

25 June 1997

djohnson@cdi.org