MOSCOW, December 10 (RAPSI) – Bill toughening penalties for breaching election legislation has been drafted and faces introducing into the lower house of Russian parliament, according to the State Duma statement.

Amendments are to be added to the Code on Administrative Offenses.

According to the legislative proposal, violation of election campaign rules would result in fines ranging from 100,000 to 150,000 rubles ($1,600 - 2,400) for citizens, from 2.2 to 3.5 million rubles ($35,500 - 55,000) for officials and upwards of 2.5 million rubles ($39,000) for companies.

Currently, fines for companies for such violations reach 30,000 rubles (about $500).

The initiative is aimed to correct the imbalance between election legislation breaching and punishment for such violations.