MOSCOW, March 17 (RAPSI) – The State Duma passed a bill on punishment for violations during the All-Russia voting on amendments to the Constitution in a final third reading on Tuesday, according to a statement of the lower house of parliament.

Amendments are proposed to the Code on Administrative Offenses and the Criminal Code of Russia.

The draft law envisages amendments to the criminal articles on falsification of electing documents, results of the poll and hindering a citizen from exercising his/her electoral rights and the work of election commissions and administrative articles on breaching of the media voting participation order, violation of rights of election commissions’ members and journalists, willful destruction of propaganda materials, illegal issuance or receipt of a ballot, violation of the vote tabulation procedure, failure to provide information on the vote results, interference in the election commissions’ work.

The document sets punishment from fines to up to 4 years in prison for the crimes.

According to one of the bill’s authors, Chairman of the State Duma Committee for State Building and Legislation Pavel Krasheninnikov, the initiative is aimed to ensure free expression of the will during the voting.

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.