Putin submits reform blueprint to lawmakers

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday submitted to the country's lower house of Parliament a bill that would enable amendments to the Constitution, but lawmakers stressed that the proposed changes would come into effect only after approval is gained from citizens in a national vote.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that the chamber, known as the State Duma, had received by the bill.

One of the proposed constitutional amendments would see the State Council given official status in the charter, and set out the responsibilities of the president in relation to the body.

"In order to ensure effective coordination and cooperation between Russia's state bodies, and to outline the key principles of foreign and domestic policies and the priorities of the country's social and economic development, the Russian president is supposed to form the State Council of the Russian Federation," says an explanatory note published on the State Duma's website.

State news agency Tass reported that Putin had suggested strengthening the role of the State Council and the regional governors.

Putin had said in his annual state of the nation address to the Federal Assembly last Wednesday that the State Council－an advisory body comprising the regional governors and top federal officials that was revived in 2000－has proved its efficiency.

He said that "its working groups provide expert, comprehensive and quality analysis of issues that are pressing" for the country and its people.

Putin added: "It is reasonable to enshrine the role and status of the State Council in the Russian Constitution."

Public vote

Andrey Klishas, head of the Russian Federation Council's Committee on Constitutional Legislation and State Building, will represent the president during the legislative hearings on the bill, as a co-chairman of the constitutional commission. He said the working group will soon discuss the voting procedures and organizing principles.

Klishas said the public vote envisaged by the draft law enabling the constitutional amendments will be held after the legislation is approved by the Parliament. The national vote will be held on the law as a whole, not on its separate articles, he said.

Procedures for the vote would be guided by the principle of transparency, ensuring the people's trust in the result, Klishas said.

Pavel Krasheninnikov, the head of the State Duma Statehood and Constitutional Legislation Committee, will also co-chair the constitution commission working group. He stressed the requirement of public endorsement for the proposed changes in the national vote.