President Dmitry Medvedev has introduced a bill that would make it easier for political parties to win parliament seats.
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The Kremlin said Friday that the presidential bill would lower the 7 percent treshold parties must clear to win seats in the lower house to 5 percent.
Russia earlier had the 5 percent legal barrier, but it was raised by Medvedev's predecessor and mentor Vladimir Putin before 2007 parliamentary elections as part of Kremlin efforts to strengthen its control over the legislature.
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Medvedev, who has cast himself as a cautious liberal but largely followed Putin's course, has said repeatedly that the country needs stronger political competition.
He said Thursday that the lower threshold wouldn't apply to this year's parliamentary elections and would take effect afterwards.














