MOSCOW, May 11 (RIA Novosti) - 60 per cent of Russians approve the idea of gender quotas to ensure women's presence in parliament, shows an opinion probe Levada Center sociologists made last month, with 1,600 respondents.
Twenty-eight per cent were against the idea, and 12 per cent were at a loss what to say.
The idea of securing women's 30 per cent presence on party tickets first came from Alexander Veshnyakov, Central Election Commission chief. A majority of political parties gave it a hostile reception.
The Federation Council, parliament's upper house, approved today a bill on elections to the State Duma, lower house. Offered by President Vladimir Putin, the bill cancels constituency elections, with all parliamentary hopefuls to run on party tickets.
