Putin allows Russians to run for office and vote in Belarus, Belarusians granted same rights in Russia

Russian ruler Vladimir Putin has signed a law ratifying a protocol that grants Belarusian citizens the right to vote and stand for election in local government bodies within Russia, with Russians receiving the same rights in Belarus.

Source: Russian state-owned newspaper Argumenty i Fakty

Details: The information was published on the official legal information portal of the Kremlin.

The protocol states that citizens of one of the contracting parties who permanently reside on the territory of the other are granted the right to participate in local self-government elections.

This document introduces amendments to the agreement between the two countries dated 25 December 1998 concerning equal rights for citizens. The law ratifies the protocol that was signed in Moscow on 13 March 2025.

The document was submitted to the State Duma (lower chamber of the Russian parliament) for ratification personally by Putin.

The Speaker of the Russian State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin previously noted that this initiative aims to "strengthen integration and cooperation between the two countries within the framework of the Union State".

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