MOSCOW, September 1 (RIA Novosti) - About half a million Russian nationals may vote in the upcoming State Duma election, due on December 2, the head of the Central Electoral Commission said Saturday.
"Every RF national, wherever he may be, has a right to vote," Vladimir Churov said.
He said that in 2003-04 federal elections, less than 300,000 Russians living abroad turned out to vote.
"This year we are expecting a slight increase - to approximately 500,000 people," he said, adding that no one knows exactly how many Russian nationals reside abroad.
"According to some estimates, there may be several million," Churov said.
He said previously that as many as 10 million RF nationals may be based abroad, whereas only 1.6 million are registered with Russian consular offices, adding that he generally approves of a recent amendment that permits political parties to campaign abroad.
