Putin agreed to discuss changes to electoral legislation

Russian President Vladimir Putin at a meeting with Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov agreed to discuss changes to the electoral law. The transcript of the conversation between Putin and Zyuganov is published on the Kremlin website.

Zyuganov invited the president to gather the leaders of the factions of the State Duma and talk about "repairing the electoral system." In response, Putin said that it was necessary to see “how the existing tools (of the political system) work in real life and what needs to be corrected along the way, what should be improved, made more efficient, working for the benefit of the people of Russia.”

Zyuganov said that the Communist Party of the Russian Federation could propose a number of amendments to change the electoral law if Putin supported them. The President agreed to discuss these proposals.

• Electoral commissions in Moscow refused to allow candidates independent of the mayor's office to participate in the elections to the Moscow City Duma. This triggered massive protests in July and August.
• On election day, three districts of Moscow conducted online voting as an experiment. In all constituencies, candidates supported by the mayor's office won: they received a significantly higher percentage of votes in electronic voting than in ordinary polling stations.