Russian lawmakers move forward with a proposal to hold snap parliamentary elections

On Tuesday, during parliamentary discussions on the second reading of legislation that will significantly change Russia’s Constitution, lawmaker Vladimir Zhirinovsky advocated snap elections for the State Duma on September 20, 2020. Sergey Mironov, the leader of another nominally opposition party, also recently expressed his group’s eagerness for early elections. 

Zhirinovsky’s proposal is already poised to become part of the constitutional reform bill. Alexander Karelin, a deputy from United Russia (the country’s ruling political party), immediately promised to introduce a corresponding amendment, and the State Duma said it would review it immediately.

Zhirinovsky also suggested replacing the direct election of the president with a vote by the State Council, a federal advisory body that is being more clearly defined in the new constitutional amendments.

In early March, the investigative media outlet Proekt reported that the Putin administration is reviewing the possibility of early elections for the State Duma. Sources told the website that Kremlin political strategists believe voters will be more inclined to support United Russia following Putin’s cabinet reshuffle and the adoption of constitutional amendments. Proekt emphasized that the Putin administration still hadn’t made a final decision about snap elections.