By DPA
Moscow : Russians will be voting under a tightened electoral law for the first time in post-Soviet times Sunday when they go to the polls to elect the fifth State Duma, the lower house of parliament.
Only parties organised countrywide with at least 50,000 members have been permitted to take part in the poll.
The threshold for entry into parliament has been raised from five to seven percent of the vote.
The high entry barrier by international standards will not be applied if only one party passes it; in that case the second largest party will also enter the Duma.
Following the change in the electoral law in 2005, only 11 parties have been permitted to take part in Sunday’s poll, compared to 23 parties and alliances in the 2003 election.
Russia’s 107 million eligible voters will only be able to vote by party list this year for the 450 deputies in the Duma.
President Vladimir Putin justified the changes to the electoral law by saying they were necessary to extend control over the country’s political structures in the fight against terrorism.
Critics of the new law see it as a means to prevent change at the top.