In search of members of the commissions – Newspaper Kommersant No. 16 (7461) dated 01/30/2023
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Parliamentary parties began to select candidates for the first election commissions of the new Russian regions. The call for proposals will close on February 21st. As the party members interviewed by Kommersant assure, they have no problems with personnel for the commissions. In the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, election commissions are formed in the traditional way: their members are appointed on a parity basis by the head of the region and the legislature. And in Zaporozhye and Kherson regions, where there are no regional parliaments yet, their functions will be taken over by the Central Election Commission (CEC).
As Kommersant found out, all five parliamentary parties are selecting candidates for the formation of the first regional election commissions in the new territories. It is assumed that in the fall of 2023, these electoral commissions will have to hold the first elections in the new subjects after their accession to Russia.
The new constituent entities of the Russian Federation have already issued the regulatory acts necessary for the formation of commissions. According to the federal law on guarantees of voting rights, members of the regional election commission are appointed in equal proportions by the legislature and the governor. Those, in turn, choose from among the candidates offered by parties, public associations, councils of deputies of municipalities, the previous composition of the election commission and the CEC. Parties represented in the State Duma have a guaranteed quota for one member of the commission, while the head of the region and the legislative assembly must appoint one member of the electoral committee based on the recommendations of the CEC. As a rule, these candidates are then appointed to senior positions.
The structure and procedure for the formation of election commissions in the four regions are somewhat different. Thus, in the DPR and LPR, the commissions will consist of 12 voting members. Six people each in the election commission will appoint the acting heads of the republics and their parliaments, the acceptance of candidates is carried out until February 17 and 18, respectively. In Zaporozhye and Kherson regions, the commissions will consist of 10 people. Half of the members there will also be appointed as interim governors, but the other half will be formed by the CEC, since there are no legislative bodies in these subjects. Candidates for the election commissions of these two regions are accepted until February 21.
It should be noted that federal legislation, in the absence of an authorized body in a constituent entity of the Russian Federation, allows the transfer of functions for the appointment of all or part of the members of the regional commission to the Central Election Commission. This was the case, for example, in 2007, when the CEC appointed all 14 members of the election commission of the Stavropol Territory due to challenging the decisions of the governor and the regional duma in courts. The CEC justified this by the fact that the region was late with the formation of the election commission, thereby creating a threat of violating the electoral rights of citizens. Last year, the CEC had to appoint one member of the election committee of the Republic of Komi to complete the formation of its new composition. The vacancy arose due to the fact that the Komi State Council (Parliament) approved only five of its six nominees, and a controversial situation arose on the sixth candidate, which the CEC had to resolve.
None of the parliamentary parties polled by Kommersant reported a shortage of personnel for delegating new subjects to election commissions. For example, Sergei Perminov, Deputy Secretary of the United Russia General Council, assured Kommersant that United Russia members would have time to submit their proposals for candidates within the allotted time. According to him, the preparation of these proposals is carried out by a special party educational module for members of election commissions. At the same time, the desire to work in commissions among local residents is “more than enough,” Mr. Perminov added.
According to Yury Afonin, First Deputy Chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, the Communist party active in the new regions already exceeds 2,000 people. “There will be no problems associated with the formation of subject, territorial and even precinct commissions,” Mr. Afonin promised. He added that the party asset includes both experienced political fighters and newly minted members of the Communist Party. “We set the task more broadly, because we understand that in the difficult conditions that are developing in these territories, our potential will be more widely used in precinct and territorial commissions. And these will be representatives not only from the Communist Party, but also from public organizations,” said the first deputy chairman of the Central Committee.
The press service of A Just Russia – For Truth also told Kommersant that they would have time to include their representatives in all election commissions in the new territories within the allotted time. The party also recalled that the necessary personnel and organizational decisions to create regional branches in the DPR and LPR have already been made. “As for the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions, just yesterday at a meeting of the presidium of the Central Council of the party, decisions were made to create regional branches in these constituent entities of the Russian Federation,” the press service said.
The LDPR relies on local cadres, its press service told Kommersant, adding that specialists and lawyers from the party’s central apparatus are preparing candidates for the election commissions of the new territories. As the Liberal Democrats say, they expect to be on time, citizens are interested in transparent elections, and many are willing to participate in such work.
Finally, the press service of New People told Kommersant that the party would send its representatives to commissions at all levels: “Selection and training of personnel are already underway. These people will be our supporters living directly in the new territories.” They also added that this work is closely related to the creation of party branches in new territories: a party cell in Donetsk opened on January 22, and branches in the LPR and Zaporozhye region will open in the near future.
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