Murmansk is abandoning the “two-headed” system of government and two-mandate districts

Next year, the municipal government in Murmansk will be formed in a fundamentally new way. The “two-headed” system, in which the city is led by the speaker of the City Council, and the administration is managed by a hired city manager, will be replaced by a “one-headed” system, when all power will be in the hands of a mayor appointed by competition. In addition, city council deputies will be elected not in 15 dual-member districts, but in 25 single-member districts. According to the expert, the reform will allow Governor Andrei Chibis to overcome the power crisis in the regional center.

The idea of ​​unifying the municipal government system in the Murmansk region was born in September at a meeting of the coordination council of representative bodies under the regional Duma. There are currently two models operating in the region. In Murmansk, Apatity, Kirovsk and Monchegorsk it is “two-headed”, when the speaker of the council of deputies is formally considered the mayor, but in fact the administration is managed by a hired official, the so-called city manager. In closed municipalities (Vidyaevo, Zaozersk, Ostrovnoy, Severomorsk and Aleksandrovsk), Polyarnye Zoryi and Olenegorsk there is a “single-headed” system, when the head of the city is a mayor elected by deputies from among candidates selected by a special competitive commission.

Those present came to a consensus that the second system provides “the most effective management process,” so all Murmansk municipalities should switch to it.

“Centralization is important today, in the conditions of the Northern Military District, when it is necessary to make very serious decisions quickly, promptly,” explained the first vice-speaker of the regional Duma, Vladimir Mishchenko.

Already in early October, deputies adopted the corresponding amendments, which were supported by all parties represented in the Duma. The reform was also approved by the governor of the Murmansk region Andrei Chibis (United Russia), emphasizing that it will make the vertical of power “clearer and more transparent.” “For people, northerners, it is fundamentally important to see the official who is responsible for managing the city administration. Today I see from people’s requests: many people confuse the functions of the head of the municipality and the head of the administration, who is responsible for the economy. The head of the municipality must be fully responsible for life, that’s what people think,” he said.

On October 17, the speaker of the Murmansk Council of Deputies, Igor Morar, presented draft amendments to the city charter that would implement this reform. But it turned out that along with the transition to a “single-headed” system, this project also implies a change in the method of forming the City Council itself. It currently includes 30 deputies who are elected in 15 dual-member districts (that is, the two candidates who receive the largest number of votes are considered elected). If the amendments are adopted, the city parliament will be formed of 25 deputies elected in single-mandate districts (one district – one mandate).

Let us note that the current composition of the City Council, despite the majority of United Russia, has repeatedly demonstrated disloyalty towards the regional authorities. Thus, in September 2021, deputies refused to approve the former Minister of Education of the Murmansk Region Olga Dzyuba as head of the city, who was publicly supported by Andrei Chibis and the party leadership. And in November of the same year, the council failed the vote for the candidacy of the city manager – Vice-Governor for Housing and Communal Services Yuri Serdechkin, also supported by the head of the region. It is believed that deputies close to the ex-mayor of Murmansk, and now State Duma deputy Alexei Weller, were involved in organizing the “fronde” in the city council. Andrei Chibis managed to confirm his proteges in office only on the second attempt and after the party “purge” (a number of deputies were expelled from the party). But Ms. Dzyuba’s candidacy had to be replaced by that of Igor Morar.

Opposition representatives interviewed by Kommersant supported the transition to a “single-headed” system, but criticized the abandonment of two-mandate constituencies.

“The “single-headed” system allows the common man to understand who the leader is in the city. In addition, there is no need to maintain two “generals,” Artur Popov, first secretary of the Murmansk regional committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, told Kommersant. “But, as statistics show, it is much more difficult for the opposition to win in single-member districts than in multi-member districts.” “We are making this transition (to single-member districts.— “Kommersant”), of course, we don’t support it, because the system is constantly changing: in the regional Duma elections in 2021, too, instead of “50 to 50” (half of the deputies were elected from lists, half from districts.— “Kommersant”) they made “25 to 75”, and the districts were redrawn,” added the leader of the Murmansk LDPR cell, Stanislav Gontar.

According to political scientist Alexander Kynev, Murmansk is the last regional capital where two-mandate districts are used in local elections, and they are indeed more beneficial to the opposition. “The chances with such a system are lower than when using party lists, but higher than in single-member constituencies: there is the possibility that an opposition candidate who could not take first place will take second.” The expert cites as an example the results of the 2023 municipal elections, following which candidates from the party in power won in absolutely all single-mandate districts in Abakan, Krasnoyarsk, Belgorod, Veliky Novgorod and Ryazan.

According to political scientist Rostislav Turovsky, before Governor Chibis, who expects to extend his powers next year (see “Kommersant” dated October 16), the task is to overcome the crisis in the city government. “It is important for him to reduce the influence of former Mayor Weller’s henchmen. The current head of the city administration is loyal to the governor and, apparently, will become a full-fledged mayor after the reform. And the speaker, even if he is from another team, will remain with limited influence. The City Council, with which Chibis had problems, will become a deliberately weak government body,” the expert sums up.

Andrey Prah