Russian MPs back changes to presidential term
Russia's parliament is expected to approve the constitutional changes
Also In The News
|
Danny Cipriani has been told he needs to work on his defensive duties if he is to one-day become a world-class fly-half. |  |
Friday, 14, Nov 2008 12:21
Russian MPs have backed plans for constitutional changes which could extend the length of presidential terms.
President Dmitry Medvedev announced the bill earlier this month, declaring that he wished to extend presidential terms from four to six years and the state Duma's mandate from four to five years.
On Friday, the Duma passed the bill in its first reading by 338 votes to 58.
It will now go through a second and third reading and will have to approved by the upper house and regional assemblies before it is passed into law.
It has been suggested that the move could lead to former president and current prime minister Vladimir Putin returning to the presidency at some stage in the future.
There is speculation that Mr Medvedev could use the pretext of constitutional changes to step down as president early, making way for Mr Putin to return.