MOSCOW, November 5 (RIA Novosti) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev proposed on Wednesday the extension of presidential and parliamentary terms from the current four years to six and five years, respectively.
In his first state-of-the-nation address to parliament, Medvedev said that he proposed, "extending the terms of office for the president and the State Duma [the lower house] to six and five years, respectively."
"I am convinced that our progress toward freedom and democracy will be successful and unwavering only if the prestige of the president and the State Duma is sufficiently high and based on the practical results of their activities, and if they have enough time to put their pledges into practice," Medvedev said.
Commenting on whether a nation-wide referendum would be held on the issue, the chairman of Russia's Central Election Commission, Vladimir Churov later said: "We will see."
