MOSCOW, May 3. /TASS/. Amendments to Russia’s federal constitutional legislation on martial law have been submitted to the State Duma (the lower house of parliament), head of the Duma Committee on State Building and Legislation Pavel Krasheninnikov said on Wednesday.

He pointed out that under Article 7 of the legislation, areas under martial law don’t hold referendums, local and federal elections.

"However, the laws on the accession of new constituent entities to Russia point out that elections should be held in the regions in the fall of 2023. That said, these amendments need to be approved in order to remove this contradiction and provide the people with an opportunity to express their political will," Krasheninnikov said, as cited by the committee’s press service.

A bill on the new Russian regions’ right to set up special election rules is currently under consideration at the State Duma. The document particularly makes it possible to establish polling stations outside the regions and allows their residents to use passport-replacing documents along with passports when casting their votes. The State Duma passed the first reading of the bill on April 18.