The Constitutional Court has struck down provisions of Bashkortostan's constitution and electoral law that set residency requirements and age limits for the republic's president, ``Russkii telegraf'' and ``Kommersant-Daily'' reported on 28 April. Formally, the court did not strike down the requirement that presidential candidates know both the Bashkir and Russian languages (which would exclude most of the republic's residents) on the grounds that Bashkortostan has no legislation specifying the required level of language proficiency. Pending the adoption of such regulations, the court said that citizens' right to participate in the electoral process should not depend on language proficiency. The court has therefore ordered that language restrictions not be applied during the runup to the presidential election in Bashkortostan, scheduled for 14 June. LB

``Russkii telegraf'' noted on 28 April that language restrictions on candidates for political office violate both the Russian Constitution and the law on guarantees of voters' rights. But Bashkortostan is not the only republic with such requirements for presidential candidates. According to the 28 April edition of ``Kommersant-Daily'', Buryatia, Sakha (Yakutia), North Ossetia, Ingushetia, Tatarstan, Tyva, and Adygea also require that presidential candidates know the republic's titular language as well as Russian. LB

30 апреля 1998г. Радио ``Свобода'' / ``Свободная Европа'' --- Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty