“A Just Russia” proposed banning foreign agents from participating in elections

The leader of the party “A Just Russia – For Truth” Sergei Mironov and the first deputy leader of the faction Dmitry Gusev reported that they had submitted to the State Duma a bill banning foreign agents from participating in elections at any level. The text of the document is at Kommersant’s disposal.

The bill proposes to prohibit foreign agents from being elected to federal government bodies, government bodies of constituent entities of the Russian Federation, as well as to local government bodies. Thus, if the initiative is adopted, foreign agents will not be able to be elected to the position of president, State Duma deputy, highest official of a subject, deputy of the legislative assembly, as well as deputy of a representative body of local self-government.

In the explanatory note to the project, the initiative is explained by the fact that “a significant part” of people declared foreign agents do not live in the country, and also “advocate anti-Russian positions” and “support, including financially, the Armed Forces of Ukraine.”

“Whose interests they will set aside if elected as a deputy or governor, I think, there is no need to explain. We don’t need such pests. A barrier is needed,” Dmitry Gusev said in a commentary to Kommersant.

Current legislation allows foreign agents to participate in elections at various levels as candidates. Persons included in the register must comply with the restrictions imposed in connection with the status of a foreign agent. In particular, they must indicate their status as a foreign agent in the application for consent to run for office, in campaign and information materials.

Previously, a law was passed on a complete ban on advertising on foreign agents’ resources. The State Duma is also discussing a ban on payments to foreign agents for copyright and related rights.

Read more about this in the material “In the State Duma it comes to the adjacent”.