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Appeal of Vladimir E. Churov, Chairman of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation to users of the CEC official Internet site
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Dear Internet users! I would like to welcome you on the official site of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation (CEC). First of all I would like to attract your attention to the results of the so-called Single Voting Day that was held in the Subjects of the Russian Federation on March 13, 2011. More than 3.3 thousands of different elections and local referenda were held in 74 regions of Russia. Over 50 thousands of candidates ran for twenty thousands mandates of deputy for legislative (representative) public bodies in the Subjects of the Russian Federation, local representative authorities and elective offices in the municipal formations. 547 members of the legislative (representative) public bodies were elected in 12 Subjects of the Russian Federation - in the Republics of Adygeya, Dagestan and Komi, the Kaliningrad, Kirov, Kursk, Nizhny Novgorod, Orenburg, Tambov and Tver regions (oblast’), the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug - Ugra, the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug. From the total number of replaced mandates 320 mandates were distributed among election districts. More than 5000 candidates were nominated, about 4600 candidates were registered, and 56 lists of candidates were nominated in election districts by the regional branches of seven political parties. As the result of elections 546 mandates were replaced with only one mandate left in a single mandate district at the elections of members for the Kirov Region Legislative Assembly. Elections of 823 municipal heads were held in 58 Subjects of the Russian Federation. At the last elections more than 2800 candidates were registered, 806 municipal heads were elected; while other municipal heads were elected through repeat voting. In administrative centers of ten Subjects of the Russian Federation, elections of members of the representative bodies took place in the following cities: Petrozavodsk, Syktyvkar, Perm, Stavropol, Vladimir, Kaliningrad, Kemerovo, Orel, Saratov, and Khanty-Mansiysk. 322 mandates were rotated, including 58 seats in single mandate districts. More than 1700 candidates were registered; among them 86 percent were candidates of regional and local branches of the political parties. All seats were replaced. Current activity of election commissions is focused on preparation for the elections of the members of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation of the sixth convocation and elections of the President of the Russian Federation which undoubtedly are the major political events of 2011-2012. The most important task for the organizers of elections is to guarantee the legal process up to the mark. According to the preliminary information more than 2300 election campaigns of regional and local level will be held in December 2011 simultaneously with elections of members of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation of the sixth convocation. Elections of members of legislative (representative) bodies whose terms of office expire on December 31, 2011 (in the Republic of Karelia and Mordovia, the Chuvash Republic, the Kamchatka, the Perm and Primorsky Territories, the Astrakhan, Lipetsk and Novgorod Regions, and the Jewish Autonomous Region) will be held in ten subjects of the Russian Federation. Another seven Subjects of the Russian Federation (the Republic of Ingushetia, the Altay Territory, the Vologda, Moscow, Pskov, Samara, and Tomsk Regions) adopted laws on reduction of terms of office of legislative (representative) bodies. Elections in above mentioned subjects of the Russian Federation will be also held in December 2011. In accordance with the federal legislation and laws of the Subjects of the Russian Federation the terms of office may be reduced and elections of members of legislative (representative) bodies in ten other Subjects of the Russian Federation (the Krasnoyarsk and Stavropol Territories, the Amur, Leningrad, Murmansk, Omsk, Orel, Sverdlovsk and Tyumen Regions, and in the city of St. Petersburg) may be removed from March 2012 to December 2011. Elections of the heads of municipal formations - administrative centers of the Subjects of the Russian Federation (cities of Grozny and Lipetsk) and elections of members of municipal representative bodies in administrative centers (cities of Grozny, Magas, and Saransk) are scheduled for December 2011. In order to implement an objective set up by the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry A.Medvedev on accelerating technical modernization of electoral system, Russian organizers of elections actively master new informational technologies to ensure constitutional rights of citizens during voting and vote counting. For several years work on implementation of program and technical devices for voting and vote counting have been developed, in Single voting day on March 13, 2011 complex of processing the ballots (automated paper ballot reading) was used in ten Regions of the Russian Federation, complex of electronic voting ("paperless" technology) - in one Region. Advantages of electronic devices for voting and vote counting were implemented into the Program of accelerated technical re-equipment of the electoral system of the Russian Federation developed by the CEC in cooperation with the Ministry of Communications of the Russian Federation for the period up to 2015 and became a component part of the Governmental program "Informational Society". The Head of the Government of the Russian Federation Vladimir V.Putin signed the Regulation of the Government of the Russian Federation of May 17, 2011 № 818-р «On approval of the Program of the CEC on the accelerated technical re-equipment of the Electoral System of the Russian Federation". This decision gives proper impulse for implementation of the Program. By the end of 2012 15 percent of polling stations are planned to be equipped with the complexes of electronic voting and the complexes of processing the ballots. By 2015 60 percent of polling stations all over the country will be equipped with program and technical means of voting and vote counting. Technical modernization of the “Elections” State automated system of the Russian Federation (SAS “VYBORI” - informational system for automation of preparation and holding of elections in the territory of the Russian Federation) designed to ensure activities of election commissions and to provide voters with information on voting and voting results, is in progress. The Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation develops partnership and international relations with electoral bodies of foreign countries and international organizations sharing experiences and opinions on electoral process and problems with election arrangements. This activity is positive and fruitful practice for all our partners. At the international conference in India on January, 2011 the CEC submitted report «Organizing an open public process of adjudication of grievances". The conference was dedicated to "The Best Electoral Practice". On April 26-28, 2011 at an international seminar in the Republic of Korea the CEC presented another report "E–Voting: Assurance of the Balance Between Accessibility of Voting and Citizens' Trust in Voting Systems". On May 16 the CEC hosted joint presentation of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation and the Superior Electoral Court of Brazil followed by signing of the Memorandum of understanding and cooperation in the field of electoral management and administration between electoral bodies of the two countries as continuation of relations first established in 2010. On May 18-20, 2011 representatives of the CEC took part in the OSCE Seminar on Human Dimension in Warsaw which was dedicated to the role of parties in the political process and met with the management and students of the political and science department of the University of Warsaw, participated in a press-conference in Warsaw office of the Russian news agency "NOVOSTI". The delegation of the CEC took part in the international observation of special elections of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan and in observation of general elections in the Republic of Peru. Sharing experience with their partners’ representatives of the CEC visited Democratic Republic of Congo. During the Single Voting Day on March 13, 2011, representatives of international, public, political and parliamentary circles, including those from Austria, Hungary, Germany, Lithuania, Poland, and Finland got acquainted with the process of voting in the Subjects of the Russian Federation - in the Komi Republic, the Kirov, Orenburg and Tver Regions. Representatives of the diplomatic corps of 13 states (Armenia, Byelorussia, Kazakhstan, the USA, Ukraine and some others) took part in the activities of Information Center of the CEC "Single Voting Day in the Subjects of the Russian Federation on March 13, 2011". In June, 2011, the CEC participated in the 20th Jubilee conference of Association of European election organizers that was held in Budapest. Dear website guests! I am glad to offer you all the advantages provided by the CEC of the Russian Federation website as unique and true information source on elections in the Russian Federation, on the activities of CEC of the Russian Federation as well as the activities of election commissions of the Subjects of the Russian Federation.
Vladimir E.Churov
Russia’s election chief: turnout is key
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