After the end of the parliamentary and presidential federal election campaigns, the Central Election Commission (CEC) of the Russian Federation and regional election commissions proceeded to addressing the current issues.
First of all, I would like to mention a thorough analysis of election commissions’ activity on all levels during 2007-2008 federal elections campaigns’ preparation and conduct. These issues as well as the election commissions’ tasks for 2008-2009 were the focus of the Russian Federation Central Election Commission meeting with the heads of the Russian Federation subjects’ election commissions on May 6, 2008.
On May 29, 2008 a seminar-meeting of the heads and staff of regional election commissions’ Information Centers with participation of the CEC Federal Informatization Center and other organizations discussed the results of using the State Automated System SAS “Vybory” to prepare and conduct elections and set major tasks for the future.
The Russian CEC released an information-analytical digest “Russian Federation Federal Assembly State Duma Deputy Elections of the fifth calling. 2007”. A similar digest reflecting the course and the results of the 2008 presidential election campaign will be published shortly.
The CEC meeting approved the Russian Federation CEC Report on Spending Federal Budget Funds, earmarked for preparation and conduct of the Russian President elections, and Information about the inflow of monetary resources to the Presidential Candidates’ Election Funds and their expenditures. The documents were circulated via the Internet.
Russian Federation subjects’ election commissions with the terms expiring in 2008 are being formed. In total, there are 18 regions in question – Republics of Adygeya, Bashkortostan, Karachayevo-Cherkessian, Kalmykia, Sakha (Yakutia), Udmurtia, Tatarstan, Chechnya, Kamchatka Region, Vladimir Region, Irkutsk Region, Leningrad Region, Magadan Region, Rostov Region, Saratov Region, Tomsk Region, Ulyanovsk Region and St. Petersburg.
Due to impending State Legislative (Representative) Body Elections in the (united) Zabaykalsky Krai and (united) Irkutsk Region in October 2008, there have already been formed temporal election commissions. In accordance with the Federal Law on “On Basic Guarantees of Electoral Rights and the Right of Citizens of the Russian Federation to Participate in a Referendum”, CEC makes proposals on the candidates for Russian Federation subjects’ election commissions and the candidates for the Chairs of election commissions.
We continue our work on updating the Voters’ and Referendum Participants’ Register, using the data from the Voters’ lists for the Fifth State Duma Elections (December 2, 2007) and Russian Federation Presidential Elections (March 2, 2008).
But the most important day in the autumn of 2008 is October 12, when on the one and the same day, there will be held about 6,500 elections and local referendums. These will include general and by-elections to regional parliaments, elections to local government agencies – deputies of representative bodies and heads of municipal entities.
Five regions will elect deputies of legislative (representative) bodies of state authorities: pre-term elections to parliament of the Chechen Republic, first calling elections to the Legislative Assembly of Zabaykalsky Krai and Legislative Assembly of the Irkutsk Region; next calling elections to the Council of People’s Deputies of the Kemerovo Region and Sakhalin Regional Duma.
Deputy elections to regional parliaments in four Russian Federation subjects will be held based on the mixed election system - in single-seat electoral constituencies and by party lists. Zabaykalsky Krai and Irkutsk Region are to elect 50 deputies, and almost a half of the seats will be filled by party-list system. Kemerovo Region will elect 36 deputies, Sakhalin Region – 28 deputies, and a half of the seats will also be filled by partly lists.
In the Chechen Republic, elections will be conducted based on the proportional election system.
In three subjects of the Russian Federation (the Chechen Republic, Irkutsk Region and Kemerovo Region), the threshold for party candidate list was set at 7 percent; in Sakhalin Region – at 6 percent and in Zabaykalsky Krai at 5 percent.
There will also be held elections of local government heads in four administrative centers – Stavropol, Vologda, Magadan and Khabarovsk.
In other Russian Federation subjects, traditionally for an inter-election period, election commissions focus on raising voters’ legal awareness, especially among the younger generation. In particular, commissions design programs for boosting youth voting activity, organize festivals and contests, expositions of children’s creative work devoted to elections.
Dear users, I invite you to visit our Website more frequently. You have a unique opportunity to obtain first-hand, comprehensive and reliable information about elections in the Russian Federation, to get to know current activities of the Russian CEC and key events in regional election commissions, to read mass-media articles on elections and easily get to the websites of Russian Federation subjects’ election commissions, Russian Center for Training in Election Technologies under Russia’s CEC and Russian Foundation For Free Elections.
Vladimir Churov |
