Al-Ghanim considers himself an independent deputy and generally votes with the other liberal-leaning, businessman members.

Elected to the Azerbaijani parliament as an independent deputy, Amirjanov was a member of the finance-budgetary and census commissions.

In the last Parliament, the Communists drew on support from small left-wing parties and independent deputies, to garner more than 200 votes.

He is an independent Islamist deputy and a member of the Mutairi tribe.

He eventually resigned from his party, after disputes with the leadership, but remained in the parliament as an independent deputy.

"Milosevic can only work in an oblique way," said Milorad Dodik, one of eight independent deputies in the assembly.

By joining other parliamentary groups or forming groups of independent deputies, they could significantly influence the balance of power in the Duma.

He also attached himself to causes such as educational reform and votes for women led by the independent deputy, Gaetano Salvemini.

As in the previous Duma, the parliamentary groups of independent deputies had a significant influence on the balance of power in the parliament.

A large number of independent deputies who had been elected to the Duma were invited to join the party's delegation.