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Voting at Russia’s parliamentary elections to take place on September 17-19 — CEC chair

According to Ella Pamfilova, holding the vote over three days is the optimal option in the current situation

MOSCOW, June 18. /TASS/. Voting for the Russian State Duma (lower house) and regional elections scheduled for September will take place over three consecutive days, Chairperson of the Central Election Commission (CEC) Ella Pamfilova announced at the commission’s meeting on Friday.

"We arrived at the conclusion, taking into account a number of factors, that it is necessary to hold a vote for the elections of members to the State Duma and other elections and referendums scheduled for September 19, 2021, not in a single day," she said, adding that the voting will take place on September 17, September 18 and September 19, 2021.

According to Pamfilova, holding the vote over three days is the optimal option in the current situation. "It guarantees safety, accessibility and convenience for voters. It is the voters who stand to gain, first and foremost," she noted.

Pamfilova added that this decision had been made in line with the sanitary and epidemiological situation in Russia, and the results of polls among voters, most of whom were in favor of multi-day voting.

In July 2020, the State Duma passed amendments to the electoral legislation, which provide for the opportunity to vote in elections and referendums for several days, but no more than three.

On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an executive order on holding State Duma elections on a single day of voting on September 19, 2021. In addition to elections to the lower house of parliament, elections of the heads of nine Russian constituent entities and 39 regional parliaments will be held.

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