MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th July, 2020) The work on bills about the Russian State Council and the right of a former president to become an upper chamber lawmaker has already begun and is currently being carried out by various bodies, Andrei Klishas, the chair of the Russian upper chamber's constitutional legislation committee, told Sputnik on Friday.
One of the recently passed amendments mandates the creation of a new governmental body known as the State Council by the president with its status determined by a federal law. Another amendment gives the president the right to become a senator for life.
"We began [working on the bills] a long time ago," Klishas said when asked, adding that his committee, as well as the Presidential State-Legal Directorate, are involved in the process.
During his annual address to the Federal Assembly in January, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the need for constitutional changes. The amendments, drafted by a special working group, were approved by the Constitutional Court on March 16. The amendments to Russia's 1993 constitution came into force on Saturday after gaining the support of 77.92 percent of people who cast their ballots in a nationwide vote. The turnout was just below 68 percent.
