The all-Russian vote will be held on April 22: the State Duma and the Federation Council approved the law on amendment of the Constitution

The State Duma at the plenary meeting on March 11 adopted in the third, final reading the draft law on the amendment of the Constitution of the Russian Federation "On improving regulation of certain issues of the organization and functioning of public authority."

383 deputies voted for the adoption of the document, no one voted against, 43 parliamentarians abstained.

All-Russian voting day, April 22, 2020, is declared non-working. Voting will be held from 08:00 to 20:00 local time.

“We should unite as much as possible around the law on amendments to the Constitution adopted today, put forward for discussion to citizens those proposals that have been discussed for two months and as a result we accept,” said State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin during the meeting.

The Council of the Federation at its meeting on March 11 also approved the law on the amendment of the Constitution. Now it will be transferred to the regions for consideration. The document will be considered approved only after its support by two-thirds of the regional parliaments. After this, the Federation Council will meet again on March 14 to approve the decisions of the regions.

In case of adoption of amendments to the Constitution at the all-Russian vote, basically the law of the country will be made a number of changes. In particular, mandatory indexation of pensions, benefits and other social benefits will be fixed, and it will also be stated that the minimum wage cannot be lower than the subsistence level.

In addition, at the level of the Constitution, Russia will be declared the successor of the Soviet Union.

“The Russian Federation honors the memory of the defenders of the Fatherland, ensures the protection of historical truth. Diminishing the significance of the people's deed in the defense of the Fatherland is not allowed, ”the text of the law says.

The status of the Russian language as the language of a nation-forming nation, which is part of the multinational union of equal peoples of Russia, is also fixed.

The amendments introduce a provision that marriage is a union of a man and a woman, and children are declared the most important state policy priority in Russia.

In addition, the State Duma adopted an amendment to provide the incumbent president of Russia with the opportunity to participate as a candidate in the presidential election, which will take place after the adoption of amendments to the Constitution.

Recall, a deputy from United Russia, Valentina Tereshkova, proposed amending the country's main law by abolishing the restrictions on the number of presidential terms, or adopting an amendment that would allow the current head of state to take part in the election for this post after the new version of the main law entered into force .

Speaking at a plenary meeting on March 10, Russian President Vladimir Putin noted that the Constitutional Court should evaluate this issue.

“In principle, this option would be possible, but on one condition: if the Constitutional Court gives an official conclusion that such an amendment will not contradict the principles of the fundamental law,” the president explained.

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The State Duma also adopted in the first reading a bill on criminal liability for violations at the national vote on amendments to the Constitution. It is noted that changes are made to a number of articles of the Criminal Code.

The Russian Ombudsman Tatyana Moskalkova said that virtually all amendments to the Constitution to one degree or another relate to the rights and freedoms of man and citizen.

“Today, it is completely predetermined that the majority will vote for these amendments. It is important that the intentions of the author - the President of the Russian Federation, deputies and senators - are implemented as they were intended. Today the country receives a new system of guarantees of human rights, ”said Moskalkova.

In turn, the head of the CEC, Ella Pamfilova, told how the slogan of the information campaign for voting on amendments was chosen.

The central element of the logo was the image of the book with the text of the Constitution, made in red, and the Russian tricolor. The image is accompanied by the phrase "All-Russian Voting" and information on the date of its holding.

Information campaign slogan: “Our country, our Constitution, our decision!”.

“Our humble team had two favorite slogans. But when the IMA gathered everything and gave it all to VTsIOM, it won in focus groups, it won ... We, with respect, affirm what people liked, ”Pamfilova said.

It is worth noting that at the end of February the All-Russian Center for the Study of Public Opinion (VTsIOM) reported that 79% of Russians know about the upcoming all-Russian vote on amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation. The greatest support for Russian citizens have social initiatives.

Recall, on January 15, Russian President Vladimir Putin made an annual appeal to the Federal Assembly, during which he introduced a number of constitutional amendments for discussion.