Communist party denied a referendum

MOSCOW, June 2 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian central election commission's chairman Alexander Veshnyakov has expressed content with today's Supreme Court decision legitimizing the commission's judgment on issues offered by the Communist party of the Russian Federation for discussing by a referendum. Last April, the central election commission put a ban on the Communist party's initiative to hold a referendum on the grounds that most of the questions listed either admitted different interpretations or touched upon the country's budgetary obligations.

"This latest decision by the Supreme Court implies that its thorough scrutiny of the arguments of the sides has ended with agreement with the central election commission on this difficult issue," Veshnyakov told newsmen Thursday. He pointed to the Communist spokesmen's pronouncements about the deeply democratic nature of the legal proceedings and the provision of all conditions for an all-round investigation into the problem.

"The Supreme Court decision is of paramount importance-it crowns the argument that has developed not only between the central election commission and the Communist party of the Russian Federation but between scholars and lawyers as well," says Veshnyakov. The Communists are entitled to offer for a referendum four issues out of 17 proposed and to edit the pointed two in accordance with the central election commission's conclusions.