§ Article 18(untitled)

ormation (Establishment) of Electoral Districts, Referendum Districts

 1. In order to conduct elections, single-seat and (or) multi-seat electoral districts shall be
formed or a single electoral district shall be established; in order to conduct a referendum, a
referendum district shall be established.

 2. Single-seat and (or) multi-seat electoral districts shall be formed on the basis of the
data on the number of voters registered in the corresponding territory in accordance with
Clause 4, Article 16 of this Federal Law. A corresponding election commission shall, not later
than in 80 days prior to the expiration of the period within which the election must be called,
establish the scheme of single-seat and (or) multi-seat districts specifying their boundaries,
listing the administrative-territorial units, or municipal formations, or settlements included into
each electoral district (if an electoral district includes a part of the territory of an administrative-
territorial unit, or a municipal formation, or a settlement, the scheme shall indicate the
boundaries of such part of the territory of the administrative-territorial unit, or a municipal
formation, or a settlement), specifying the number of each electoral district, the location of each
district election commission or an election commission authorized to exercise the powers of the
a district election commission, and the number of voters in each electoral district. A
corresponding legislative (representative) body of state power, representative body of municipal
formation shall approve the scheme of electoral districts not later than in 20 days prior to the
expiration of the period within which the election must be called, and this body shall be entitled
to amend the proposed scheme before the electoral district scheme is approved.
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(as amended by the Federal Law of July 21, 2005, No.93-FZ)

 3. If there are no legislative (representative) bodies of state power, representative
bodies of municipal formation in the territory where elections are to be conducted or a new
scheme of single-seat and (or) multi-seat electoral districts has not been approved by the time
specified in Clause 2 of this Article, the election commission organizing the election shall take
one of the following decisions:
(as amended by the Federal Law of July 21, 2005, No.93-FZ)
 а) if the scheme of electoral districts approved for the purposes of the election to of
bodies of state power, bodies of local self-government of the previous convocation (hereinafter
- previous scheme of the districts) complies with the requirements set forth in this Federal Law -
a decision on conducting the election by using the previous scheme of districts;
 b) if the previous scheme of districts does not satisfy the requirements set forth in this
Federal Law and or) has been duly declared invalid and inapplicable by a court in accordance
with the procedure established by the federal law - a decision on conducting the election in
electoral districts, the scheme of which is to be established in accordance with law by the
election commission organizing the election and approved by this commission not later than in
five days from the date on which the decision on calling the election is officially published. In
such case, if the number of deputies elected with the use of the new scheme of districts
remains unchanged, the election commission at establishment of such scheme shall be
entitled, apart from updating the number of voters, to introduce amendments to the previous
scheme of the districts, in accordance with which only districts that do not comply with
requirements of Clause 4 of this Article are subject to amendments, and (or) to supplement the
previous scheme of districts in the part that was declared invalid and not applicable. If such
amendments and supplements resulted in changing of the boundaries of other districts in the
previous scheme of the districts, the commission may change the boundaries of such districts
in accordance with the requirements of Clause 4 of this Article.

 31 At conducting of elections to legislative (representative) body of state power of the
subject of the Russian Federation of the first convocation, representative body of municipal
body of the first convocation the scheme of electoral districts determined by election
commission organizing the election shall be approved by the body stated in the law or other
regulatory act on the basis of which corresponding elections are conducted. If such body fails to
approve in stipulated term of the scheme of electoral districts, this scheme shall be approved by
election commission organizing the election not later than in five days from the day of official
publication of the decision on calling corresponding election.
(Clause 31 introduced by the Federal Law of July 21, 2005, No.93-FZ)

 4. Single-seat and (or) multi-seat electoral districts shall be formed to meet the following
requirements:
 а) approximately equal numbers of voters in single-seat electoral districts, with a
permissible variation of the average voters’ representation quota not exceeding 10 percent, and
for remote areas and hard-to-reach areas not exceeding 30 percent shall be observed. In
forming multi-seat electoral districts, approximate equality of the numbers of voters per one
deputy seat shall be observed. In a multi-seat electoral district, permissible variation of the
average voters’ representation quota multiplied by the number of deputy seats in this district
shall not exceed ten percent of the average voters’ representation quota, and 15 percent in
hard-to-reach or remote areas. These requirements may not be observed at elections to federal
bodies of state power, other federal state bodies if according to the federal laws at least one
electoral district shall be established in the territory of each subject of the Russian Federation.
Provisions contained in the first sentence of this Paragraph may not be applied at
establishment in the territory of the given autonomous district of a single-seat electoral district
for conducting of election of deputies of the legislative (representative) body of state power of
the subject of the Russian Federation. If the application of provisions contained in the first
sentence of this Paragraph results in formation of an electoral district that includes part of
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territories of more than one municipal formation, or formation of an electoral district that
includes territories of one or several municipal formations and part of territory of another
municipal formation; separate single-seat electoral districts at conducting of election of deputies
of the legislative (representative) body of state power of the subject of the Russian Federation,
representative body of municipal formation may be formed with permissible variation of the
average voters’ representation quota not exceeding 20 percent. A list of remote and hard-to-
reach localities areas shall be established by the law of the subject of the Russian Federation
that came into force prior to the day of the official publication of the decision to call the election;
(Paragraph “a” as amended by the Federal Law of July 21, 2005, No.93-FZ)
 b) when establishing electoral districts in the areas densely populated by indigenous
small peoples as defined by the law of the subject of the Russian Federation, the permissible
variation of the average voters’ representation quota in accordance with the law of the subject
of the Russian Federation may exceed the above limit, but shall not be more than 40 percent;
(as amended by the Federal Law of July 4, 2003, No.102-FZ)
 c) an electoral district shall constitute a single territory; creation of an electoral district
consisting of non-adjacent territories shall not be allowed, with the exception of enclave
territories.

 5. The requirements to the formation of single-seat and (or) multi-seat electoral districts
set forth in Clause 4 of this Article shall be met with due consideration of the administrative-
territorial structure (division) of the subject of the Russian Federation, territories of municipal
formations.

 6. If, in accordance with the constitution (statute), or the law of the subject of the
Russian Federation, either of the Chambers of its two-Chamber legislative (representative)
body of state power of the subject of the Russian Federation is formed out of representatives of
administrative-territorial units or municipal formations, Paragraphs "a" and "b" of Clause 4 of
this Article shall not be applied to the formation of such Chamber.

 7. The scheme of single-seat and (or) multi-seat electoral districts, including its graphical
representation, shall be published (made public) by the appropriate representative body of state
power, representative body of municipal formation, or the election commission organizing the
election not later than in five days upon its approval.
(as amended by the Federal Law of July 21, 2005, No.93-FZ)

 8. If a multi-seat electoral district is established, the number of seats to be distributed in
the district shall not exceed five. This restriction shall not be applied to elections to bodies of
local self-government of a settlement, and election to bodies of local self-government of other
municipal formation in electoral district formed within the boundaries of election precinct.
(as amended by the Federal Law of July 21, 2005, No.93-FZ)