MOSCOW, March 29 Foreign agents have the right to participate in elections as candidates, but are required to comply with the restrictions imposed on them by law, in particular, to indicate their status in the application to the Central Election Commission, in campaign materials and in the voting room, the Russian Ministry of Justice said.
The agency made a corresponding request against the backdrop of a statement by foreign agent TV presenter Tatyana Lazareva*, who announced on Facebook** her intention, together with 44 other people, to run for the Moscow City Duma, elections to which will be held in the fall. According to Lazareva*, she wants to check whether “the status of a foreign agent does not discriminate against people at all, as they say.”
Restrictions associated with the status of a foreign agent are prescribed in the federal law «On control over the activities of persons under foreign influence.» At the same time, the passive electoral right of foreign agents is not limited by current legislation.
«If a candidate is a foreign agent, information about this must be indicated in the application submitted to the Central Election Commission. Also, such a candidate must indicate this information in the signature sheet, campaign materials, and information about the status of the candidate must be posted on information stand in the voting room and on the ballot paper,» the department's response to the agency's request says.
The Ministry of Justice explained that all responsibilities of candidates included in the register of foreign agents for elective positions are established in federal laws: “On the election of the President of the Russian Federation”, “On the election of deputies of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation”, “On basic guarantees” voting rights and the right to participate in a referendum of citizens of the Russian Federation.»
* An individual performing the functions of a foreign agent.
** The activities of Meta (social networks Facebook and Instagram) are prohibited in Russia as extremist