State Duma, regional elections start in Russia

The election of the 7th State Duma of Russia started on early Sunday, the Russian news agency TASS reported.

The first polling stations were opened in the easternmost Kamchatka and Chukchi peninsulas at 08:00 a.m. (0600 GMT), said the report.

According to the agency, 225 of the new State Duma members will be elected on the proportionate basis and another 225 in single-member constituencies.

A total of 14 political parties with their lists of candidates and 23 self-nominees in single-member constituencies will participate in the election, according to the report.

The right to vote belongs to 111.6 million Russians residing within the country's territory or featuring on the lists of Russian consular offices abroad, it said.

More than 94,000 polling stations, including those in closed territories - military garrisons, prisons and hospitals, are open in Russia on the polling day, and 371 polling stations are open outside Russia in 145 countries, said the report.

Elections will roll through 11 time zones starting from eastern Kamchatka peninsula and finishing in western Kaliningrad, it said.

All the 85 Russian regions will hold more than 5,300 elections of different level on Sunday: 7 regions will elect governors abd regional heads abd 39 regions will elect deputies of local legislature.

There will also be a new Russian Federation Council, the parliament's upper house, after Sunday's polls.

The new council will be made up of representatives of regional legislatures and executive bodies. The senators are delegated by regional parliaments and governors after the election, the agency said.

As the election begins, the Russian Central Committee (CEC) center will begin its work from 10:00 a.m. local time (0800 GMT), according to the Russian news agency Sputnik.

"A total of 1,450 people from 154 media outlets received accreditation for work at the CEC information center, 314 of them represent 85 foreign media offices," the CEC said.

Source: XINHUA