Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed into law a bill on amendments to the law on presidential elections, which restrict coverage of the poll scheduled for March next year by the media.
The bill, endorsed into law on November 14, permits only those journalists working for officially registered media outlets to attend sessions held by the country's election commissions.
The law also says that only those "who have a right by the Russian Federation's laws" to take pictures and record video at voting sites can do so, while such photo and video coverage must not violate the secrecy of the ballot and confidentiality of personal data.
In addition, the law restricts journalists' work at voting stations located in military units, allowing only media outlets approved by the commanders of the units to cover the election process.
The Central Election Commission, under the legislation, now has the right to change the election procedure on territories where martial law has been introduced. The commission is to take into consideration the thoughts and opinions of the Defense Ministry, Federal Security Service, and local governments when making decisions, the law says.
Russian embassies and consulates now have a right to change the date and time of elections if citizens' lives and health are under threat.
The exact date of the next presidential election is expected to be announced by parliament's upper chamber, the Federation Council, in mid-December.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said the amendments to the law on presidential elections were necessary due to "a special situation" in Russia's "new territories," a reference to Ukrainian regions annexed by Russia after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine launched in February 2022.
Putin has yet to announce whether he will take part in the poll, though most analysts expect him to run.
According to constitutional amendments introduced in 2020, Putin, who has been in power as president or prime minister since 1999, is eligible to take part in two more presidential elections.
