19:14

http://www.ntv.ru/russia/07Feb2001/duma_parties.html

The State Duma adopted at first reading the draft of the law on political parties. Having examined five proposed variants the deputies chose the draft introduced by Vladimir Putin. Four alternative drafts of the law were rejected by the Duma.

280 deputies voted for the bill while the required minimum is 226 votes. 109 deputies voted against, four deputies abstained.

Three factions - "Yedinstvo", "Fatherland - All Russia" and the Liberal Democratic Party - together with their leaders voted jointly for the adoption of the president's bill.

The communist faction which the day before had decided to vote jointly against the president's bill, in general voted according to this decision.

At the same time the leader of the faction Gennady Zyuganov and the speaker of the State Duma Gennady Seleznyov didn't take part in the voting; the member of the faction the chairman of the committee for relations with public and religious associations Viktor Zorkaltsev supported the president's bill.

The majority of the members of the faction "Union of Right Forces" headed by Boris Nemtsov and vice-speaker Irina Khakamada voted for president's bill.

The members of this faction representing the party "Democratic Choice of Russia" including the leader of this party Yegor Gaidar, the first deputy of the head of the faction Viktor Pokhmelkin, deputies Sergey Yushenkov, Eduard Vorobyov etc. voted against this bill.

The faction "Yabloko" voted for the adoption of the president's bill including Grigory Yavlinsky and his deputy Sergey Ivanenko and the vice-speaker Vladimir Lukin.

According to the bill adopted at first reading, only those political parties are to be registered which have not less than 10 thousand members and regional structures in 50% of subjects of the Federation.

At the same time regional structures must have not less than 100 members. A party can't be created on the professional, gender, ethnic or religious basis.

The bill provides state budget financing of the parties that overcame the 3% barrier at the elections to the State Duma.

According to the document, the general prosecutor has the right to issue warnings to the parties for violation of acting law. If these violations are not removed by a specified time, the general prosecutor introduces his representation to the Supreme Court which decides whether the activity of a concrete party is to be suspended or the party can be liquidated according to the court's decision.