Deputies read their rights – Kommersant

On Wednesday, the State Duma adopted in the second reading a large package of amendments to the electoral legislation, including amendments on elections under martial law introduced in four new constituent entities of the Russian Federation. The situation in the new territories and the issues of conducting a special military operation (SVO) became the main topics in the speech of Tatyana Moskalkova, Commissioner for Human Rights in Russia, who presented the deputies with an annual report on her activities.

Tatyana Moskalkova began her report by talking about how the events of the past year and a half have changed her work: “Large-scale evacuation to Russia of residents of Donbass and Ukraine fleeing the Ukrainian Nazis, a forced and inevitable special military operation, sanctions aggression by the West against Russia, unprecedented Russophobia, of course, they inevitably led to an increase in appeals to the Commissioner for Rights. We received 79,000 requests last year and 16,000 in the first quarter of this year.” In this regard, according to the speaker, it was necessary “to simplify as much as possible the accessibility to the institute of the commissioner of our citizens” and, in particular, to create a round-the-clock hotline, an Internet reception and special monitoring groups to work with evacuees, mobilized and families of participants in the NWO.

Separately, Mrs. Moskalkova noted the successful dialogue with the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on humanitarian issues.

“With our participation, all truckers, civilian sailors and employees of enterprises who were illegally held on the territory of Ukraine for a long time, a total of 168 of our citizens, were returned to Russia,” the Ombudsman said. She also drew the deputies’ attention to the bureaucratic nature of the procedure for paying the families of the victims.

In response, the parliamentarians spoke about their ideas for the protection of human rights in the context of the NWO. So, the head of the committee on family affairs, Nina Ostanina (KPRF), recalled the proposal to exempt three children and disabled children from partial mobilization of fathers. Tatyana Moskalkova supported this initiative. Independent deputy Oksana Dmitrieva raised the issue of benefits for admission to universities: “The rights of the children of the SVO participants are currently higher than those of the SVO participants themselves: children enter without competition and without exams, and the participants of the SVO themselves are out of competition, but with passing the entrance exams. trials.” Ms. Moskalkova also approved the idea of ​​equalizing benefits, and Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin immediately suggested working it out with the relevant ministry. Finally, the Ombudsman also supported the proposal of the New People on the creation of an institution of commissioners for military affairs (the corresponding project was on the agenda of the meeting on May 17, but the Duma did not have time to consider it), noting that a special unit deals with these issues in her apparatus.

After that, the State Duma adopted in the second reading two bills, also directly related to the SVO. The first of these supplements the current unconditional ban on elections under martial law with a clause on the possibility of holding them under a special procedure. At the same time, the document allows, on the basis of presidential decrees, to carry out “forced and controlled movement of citizens from the territory where martial law has been introduced to territories where martial law has not been introduced” and apply administrative detention for a period of up to 30 years for violation of the prohibitions and restrictions established under martial law. days.

The second bill initially regulated some features of election campaigns in the new constituent entities of the Russian Federation, then a description of the procedure for calling elections in territories where martial law was introduced was added to it. This procedure will be launched at the initiative of the governors and after consultations between the CEC, the Ministry of Defense and the FSB. And shortly before the second reading, new amendments appeared in this document related to the electoral process as a whole.

If the first bill was adopted without discussion, then when considering the second speaker, Dmitry Vyatkin (ER) was actively opposed by Alexei Kurinny (KPRF). He opposed the introduction of electronic lists of voters, which will not be available to members of election commissions with the right to consultative vote and observers.

“It seems to us that this process will contribute to falsification,” the communist admitted. Mr. Vyatkin objected that the formation of a unified electronic voter register “already exists, it is already a given.”

Mr. Kurinny did not like the amendment on the creation of polling stations outside the subject of the Russian Federation: “It is completely incomprehensible how it will be possible to control, for example, when the polling station for the election of the mayor of Moscow will be located in the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug or Yamalo-Nenets, for some reason there on an objective basis or, shall we say, at the wish of those who work there on behalf of Moscow. And, of course, this, in our opinion, again creates additional conditions for administrative influence and falsifications.” To this, Dmitry Vyatkin replied that the amendment was due to security considerations – for example, when it comes to voting in territories under shelling.

Finally, Aleksey Kurinny suspected that the amendment, which provides for special places in polling stations for observers and media representatives, will be used to prevent these people from following the voting process. “Here, the rights of observers are being protected, who are guaranteed to be provided with a specially designated place where they can sit down,” objected Mr. Vyatkin.

As a result, the electoral amendments were approved in the second reading by 326 deputies with 79 votes against. The Duma will consider both elective bills in the third reading next Thursday.

Ksenia Veretennikova