DUMA ACTION ON ELECTORAL LEGISLATION.

In a procedure whichlasted only a few minutes on August 11, the Duma overrode witha comfortable majority the Federation Council’s veto on the lawon defining the boundaries of electoral districts. The vote makesit possible for candidates to begin full-swing campaigning inthe districts. Until now, they had until now been unable to doso in the absence of a clear definition of the districts’ boundaries.

In the same sitting, the Duma upheld Yeltsin’s veto of anotherFederation Council bill, this one providing for the formationof the parliament’s upper house by popular election. Yeltsinhad vetoed that bill because he favors the formation of the FederationCouncil through appointment by the regional authorities, as theconstitution provides, rather than through election. The Duma’svotes amount to a compromise between the lower house and the presidentialadministration at the expense of the upper house.

Moscow Expels American, Turk, as "Spies."