MOSCOW, March 11 (RAPSI) – The lower house of Russian parliament, the State Duma, passed a bill on amendments to the Constitution in the third and final reading on Wednesday.

Amendments are to be introduced into several articles of the Constitution concerning Federal Structure, President of the Russian Federation, Federal Assembly, Russia’s Government, Judiciary and prosecutor’s office, local governance.

The document specifies provisions on social guarantees for citizens such as fixing of regular pension indexation and minimum wage.

The amendments also fix definition of children as the country’s wealth and fix in the Constitution a provision reading that the state must create conditions for their cultural, intellectual, moral and physical development.

The bill also touches authorities. The residence qualification for presidential candidates is to be increased from 10 to 25 years. The Constitutional Court would be authorized to check draft laws on the request of a Head of the State. Governors, judges, government and parliament members and other officials would be banned from having foreign citizenship and residence permit.

A president would gain a right to appoint security agencies chiefs and regional prosecutors after consultations with the Federation Council.

Primacy of the Constitution over international treaties is to be fixed in the Constitution.   Restrictions on the number of presidential terms are to be lifted and thus the acting Head of State will be allowed to hold the office again.

The All-Russian vote on the Constitution is scheduled for April 22. The date of the voting is to be a legal public holiday, it is to be held from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. local time.