Novosibirsk deputies took up the mayor

Deputies of the Legislative Assembly of the Novosibirsk Region at a closed meeting on Tuesday discussed the initiative of the Public Chamber of the region, which proposed replacing the direct election of the mayor of Novosibirsk with a competitive procedure. According to the participants of the discussion, the majority of speakers supported this idea, but the final decision has not yet been made. Experts believe that the abolition of direct elections of the mayor (this post has been occupied by communist Anatoly Lokot since 2014) may complicate the election campaign of the United Russia governor Andrei Travnikov if he runs for a second term in the fall.

On January 31, the Novosibirsk Legislative Assembly held a closed meeting on “improving the models for the formation of local self-government bodies”, where the question of the advisability of replacing direct elections of the mayor of Novosibirsk with a competitive selection was discussed. Such an initiative was made by the Public Chamber (OP) of the region. “The competitive appointment system in the current political and economic situation allows for more efficient management and formation of an effective team. It guarantees to a greater extent that a professional manager will come to the leadership, ”explained Galina Gridneva, chairman of the OP.

Novosibirsk remains one of the six and largest regional centers in Russia where direct elections of the mayor remain. In 2014 and 2019, Anatoly Lokot (KPRF) won them, receiving 43.75% and 50.25% of the vote, respectively. His term of office expires in 2024.

The meeting was chaired by the head of the Committee on State Policy, Legislation and Local Self-Government Igor Umerbaev (United Russia). “We discussed the petition of the OP Council, exchanged arguments and opinions. This is a working meeting without the formation of any final conclusion, conclusion or recommendation, ”he told Kommersant. During the discussion, “some of the deputies may have strengthened their position, while others may have changed their minds,” United Russia added.

The head of the Communist Party faction, Vladimir Karpov, told Kommersant that the past event was “so far a rough draft.” In the future, according to him, the OP’s initiative will be discussed in factions and at committee meetings. Mr. Karpov himself stated his personal position at the meeting, but refused to clarify what it consisted of. The leadership of the OP also did not begin to talk about the last meeting. Another participant in the meeting told Kommersant that arguments were expressed both in favor of introducing a competition and in support of direct elections, but there were noticeably more of the former.

Only “A Just Russia – For Truth” took an unequivocal position among the parliamentary parties. In his statement, published on January 30, its chairman, Sergei Mironov, noted that “elections are a direct link between the authorities and society, the break of which is extremely dangerous today.”

United Russia members, who have a majority in the Legislative Assembly, have not yet officially spoken out. At a January 26 meeting of the OP council, Sergey Asantsev (ER), speaker of the Novosibirsk City Council, suggested that the new model of power organization would allow the city to “develop and move on” faster. The idea of ​​the competition was also supported by State Duma deputy from United Russia Oleg Ivaninsky, writing in his Telegram channel: “For such a metropolis as Novosibirsk, the competitive appointment of the head is a promising model for solving urgent problems of strategic development in all spheres and directions.” At the same time, Nikolai Mochalin (ER), deputy of the Legislative Assembly and one of the veterans of Novosibirsk politics, spoke in the local media in favor of maintaining direct elections.

The communists have not yet made official statements. The press service of the regional committee of the Communist Party did not respond to a request from Kommersant. Anton Tyrtyshny, vice-speaker of the Novosibirsk City Council from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, told Kommersant that he personally supports the preservation of direct elections. Mayor Anatoly Lokot at the end of 2022 told reporters that he was not yet ready to talk about this topic, although he had previously been very determined. So, in September 2019, immediately after being re-elected for a second term, he promised to “do everything” to maintain direct elections, and at the beginning of 2020, he proposed to fix the direct election of the heads of large cities in the Constitution.

“The Communist Party itself cannot make the right decision for itself. They cannot calculate whether it is beneficial (cancellation of direct elections.— “b”) or unprofitable,” says political scientist Vladimir Leontiev. According to him, the Novosibirsk communists need to coordinate their position with the leadership of the party and take into account the relationship between Mayor Lokot and United Russia Governor Andrei Travnikov. “In connection with the general situation,” United Russia is not completely confident in its abilities either, adds Mr. Leontiev.

According to experts from the Minchenko Consulting company, the abolition of direct elections for the mayor of Novosibirsk can complicate the election campaign of Governor Travnikov if he runs for a second term in the fall of 2023. The head of the region has conflicts “both with local groups of influence and with federal actors,” and “this conflict can only worsen due to the possible cancellation of direct mayoral elections,” according to the State Council 2.0 report published on January 30.

Valery Lavsky, Novosibirsk