At its next meeting the Yabloko faction will discuss the viability of submitting an alternative draft law on political parties to the State Duma.

The Yabloko faction has its own variant of the law prepared by an expert group headed by Alexander Shishlov which is an alternative to the presidential one. However, the Yabloko faction thinks that if it is decided to submit Yabloko’s draft, this step should only be regarded as a tactic, as the Duma’s support for the presidential draft is already a foregone conclusion.

It is expected that on January 16, 2001 the Council of the Duma will examine the President’s draft law, which was submitted to the Duma at the end of December 2000. At the beginning of February the draft will be discussed at a plenary meeting of the State Duma.

Based on Interfax reports.