Article 18. Formation (Establishment) of Electoral Districts, Referendum Districts
1. In order to conduct elections, single-seat and/or multi-seat electoral districts shall be formed established or a single electoral district shall be formed; in order to conduct a referendum, a referendum district shall be established.
2. Single-seat and/or multi-seat electoral districts are shall be formed on the basis of the data on the number of voters registered on the relevant territory in accordance with Clause 4, Article 16 of this Federal Law. A relevant election commission shall, not later than 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 municipalities, or populated areas falling into each electoral district (in the eventif an electoral district includes a part of the territory of an administrative/territorial unit, or a municipality, or a populated area, the scheme shall indicate the boundaries of such part of the territory of the administrative/territorial unit, or a the municipality, or a the populated area), 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. The appropriate legislative (representative) body of state power, representative body of local self-government shall approve the scheme of electoral districts not later than 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.
3. If there are no legislative (representative) bodies of state power, representative bodies of local self-government are not available on the territory where elections are to be held 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:
?) if the scheme of electoral districts approved for the purposes of the election to elections of bodies of state power, bodies of local self-government of the previous convocation (hereinafter, the "previous scheme of the districts") complies with the requirements set forth in this Federal Law, a decision on to holdng 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 to holdng the election by in electoral districts the scheme of which is to be established in accordance with law the by the election commission organizing the election and approved by this commission not later than five days from the date on which the decision on to calling the election is officially published. In such case, if the number of deputies elected by with the use of the new scheme of districts shall remains unchanged, and the election commission, in defining determining such scheme, shall only be entitled, apart from updating the number of voters, to introduce alterations to in the previous scheme of the districts, with such alterations to be made only in those districts that fail to meet the requirements of Clause 4 of this article, and/or to supplement the previous scheme of districts to the extent as far as it was declared invalid and inapplicable. In the eventIf the said modifications alterations and supplements resulted in modification 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.
4. Single-seat and/or multi-seat electoral districts shall be formed to meet the following requirements:
?) approximately equal numbers of voters in single-seat electoral districts, with a permissible deviation from the average voters’ representation quota not exceeding 10 percent, and for remote areas and hard-to-reach areas not exceeding 30 percent. In forming multi-seat electoral districts, approximate equality of the numbers of voters per one deputy seat shall be observed approximately equal. In a multi-seat electoral district, the deviation from 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 need not apply be observed at to elections to elections of federal bodies of state power, other federal state bodies if according to the federal laws at least one electoral district is shall be established on the territory of each subject of the Russian Federation.
The requirements contained in the first sentence of this sub-cClause shall not apply if on the territory of an autonomous region comprised in another subject of the Russian Federation a one single-seat electoral district covering the entire territory of such autonomous region is formed established for elections of deputies to 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 sub-cClause entails the formation of an electoral district containing parts of the territories of more than one municipality, or formation of an electoral district containing the territories of one or more municipalities and a part of the territory of another municipality, separate single-seat electoral districts at an election of deputies of the legislative (representative) body of state power of the subject of the Russian Federation may be established with a maximum acceptable deviation from 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 became effective before the day of the official publication of the decision to call the election;
b) when establishing electoral districts in the areas populated by indigenous small peoples as defined by the law of a subject of the Russian Federation, the permissible deviation from 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 exceeding more than 40 percent;
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 for the administrative-territorial structure (division) of a subject of the Russian Federation, territory of municipalities.
6. If, in accordance with the constitution (charter), or a law of a 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 ofwith representatives of administrative-territorial units or municipalities, Sub-cClauses "a" and "b" of Clause 4 of this article shall not apply 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 local self-government, or the election commission organizing the election not later than five days upon its approval.
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 apply to an election to election of a body of local self-government in an electoral district that is equal to formed within the boundaries of a municipalityan electoral precinct.
