Candidates for deputies from the “Fair Russia” threw money on leaflets

The leadership of the Moscow Spravorossy identified the “best candidates” and issued them cash bonuses without waiting for the results of the municipal elections. 1417 local deputies will be elected in 125 out of 146 districts of Moscow. United Russia will fight for all 1,417 mandates, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation – for 984, the LDPR nominated 381 people, and New People – 580. 626 people go to the polls from A Just Russia.

The Moscow Spravorossy presented new requirements for already nominated candidates when the election campaign actually entered its final stage: this week campaigning began in the media, which will last until voting day on September 11th. The regional council of the Moscow branch of the party “Fair Russia” formulated KPI, including in the “key performance indicators”: meetings with voters; printed campaign materials issued; door-to-door contacts with voters plus activity in social networks.

The Reg Council immediately identified three candidates with the best KPI, giving them cash prizes (from 30,000 to 10,000 rubles), its representative told Vedomosti. And the two candidates with the worst KPIs were simply removed from the elections by the Right Russians.

“In order to somehow help our candidates, we decided to use the carrot and stick method,” Dmitry Gusev, the leader of the Moscow Right-wing Russia, State Duma deputy, explained the essence of KPI to Vedomosti. “We decided to stimulate those who really campaign actively by transferring funds to election funds, and we excluded those who do not campaign at all.” Gusev is not embarrassed by the fact that the “expelled” passed the preliminary party selection before the Right Russians put forward additional requirements for their candidates.

“Candidates who have come forward but are not running any campaign have been in every election before,” electoral expert Andrei Buzin told Vedomosti. But in this case, the rule “to support every candidate she put forward” is violated, he believes. And although the withdrawal of a candidate by the party is also a common practice in any election, the party is not looking for an excuse in the form of a candidate’s KPI. This is done “for some of his public statements that contradict the “party policy,” Buzin emphasizes.

“People’s life circumstances changed after being nominated as candidates and they decided not to participate in the elections,” Gusev explained the main reason why the Moscow Right Russians used the “whip” against two of their candidates who showed low KPI.

In Moscow conditions, this “exclusion from candidates” can increase the effectiveness of the remaining contenders for deputy mandates. The fact is that they are elected to the municipal councils of Moscow in multi-member constituencies: five mandates in one constituency. “And if we removed two of the three, now we will throw all our forces into the campaign of one candidate,” Gusev said.

“It [KPI для местных кандидатов] – a storm in a teacup,” Boris Makarenko, president of the Center for Political Technologies, told Vedomosti, while admitting that “any party should monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the campaign.” But in the case of A Just Russia, the invented KPI will not increase the performance of candidates from this party, the expert believes, based on the fact that in the last municipal elections in Moscow, “the Right Russians were not very successful.” Then 10 candidates were elected from the party.

However, the candidates themselves positively perceived the cash bonuses that will be credited to their official electoral account for achieving KPI. RUB 500,000 – This is the maximum amount that each candidate is entitled to spend on his campaign according to the Moscow Electoral Code.

“My electoral fund is very, very far from the maximum amount,” Roxana Tumanova, a candidate for the municipal council of Northern Butovo, who was awarded 30,000 rubles, told Vedomosti. from the party for “high KPI”. According to her, she has so far had to run the campaign exclusively “at her own expense, personal savings.” “Now is not an easy time to attract sponsors and donations,” she said. Therefore, according to the candidate, the award from the party will provide her with “substantial assistance: every 500 rubles is 100 additional leaflets.”