Amendments to the law on political parties (N95-F3) signed by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev come into force today, Rossiyskaya Gazeta reports.
The minimal number of party members drops from 40,000 to 500. Parties will also have more opportunities in presenting registry documents, correction of mistakes at the Justice Ministry will take 3 months. Annual reports to the CEC and the Justice Ministry will be replaced with a report to the CEC once in 3 years.
The bill was approved by the Federation Council on March 28. Experts expect a hundred new parties to be formed in the near future. The Justice Ministry has already received some 80 bids.
Head of the Chamber of Accounts Sergey Stepashin said that the political system can only process 4-5 parties, others would be neglected.
Andrey Kazantsev, Director of the Analytical Center of MGIMO, told Vestnik Kavkaza that such expectations are exaggerated. Separatism and parties have nothing in common, he says. Radicalization is augmented by banning political views.
The president introduced the bill on simplifying procedures of parties on December 23, 2011. It was passed in the first reading on February 28, 2012, and the second reading on March 20. According to the old law, parties get dissolved for inactivity of 5 years. The new law sets 7 years.
