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Rights Panel Gets Web Vote

New members of the presidential human rights council will now be determined, in part, by an online vote.

Candidates who receive the most online votes will still need to get approval by the council's head, Mikhail Fedotov, Interfax reported.

The new procedure, drafted by the presidential administration, is to come into effect later this month. The new rules won't be applied to the incumbent members of the council.

The council is in need of new members after the exodus of several prominent members, including rights champion Svetlana Gannushkina, political analyst Dmitry Oreshkin and Institute of Contemporary Development director Igor Yurgens.

Moscow Helsinki Group head Lyudmila Alexeyeva is still undecided about whether to quit, she told Interfax.

(MT)

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