OREANDA-NEWS. October 21, 2011. The threshold for political parties to enter parliament in the federal parliamentary election has been lowered from seven percent to five percent.

Dmitry Medvedev signed Federal Law On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation following the Lowering of the Minimum Percentage of Votes Required for a Party to Obtain Seats in the State Duma of the Russian Federation Federal Assembly.

The federal law lowers from seven percent to five percent the minimum share of votes a party’s federal list of candidates must obtain in order to get seats in the State Duma.

This amendment made it necessary to amend a number of other federal laws regulating election procedures, defining the status of State Duma deputies, and regulating political parties’ activities and the procedures for public television and radio coverage of the parties represented in parliament.

The federal law’s procedures will apply to the seventh and subsequent convocations of the State Duma. As for the sixth convocation of the State Duma, in accordance with the laws currently in effect, federal party lists that got at least five percent of the votes but did not clear the 7-percent barrier will receive not more than two seats in the State Duma.