Presidential elections take hold in new territories

After consultations with the FSB and the Ministry of Defense, the Central Election Commission (CEC) decided to hold presidential elections in the territories of the new subjects. No one doubted that the CEC would make just such a decision: just the day before, the commission allowed the border regions, including the DPR, LPR, Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, to use additional forms of voting, but now it is official. Presidential elections in new entities are their absolute legitimation within the Russian Federation, the Central Election Commission explained.

After consultations with the Ministry of Defense and the FSB, the Central Election Commission considered it possible to allow voting in presidential elections in new territories where martial law is in force. This was announced at a commission meeting on Monday. As the deputy chairman of the Central Election Commission Nikolai Bulaev emphasized, the decision was also made on the basis of appeals from the heads of four regions. “This morning, in accordance with the law, we held consultations with representatives of the Ministry of Defense, the FSB, and four constituent entities of the Russian Federation,” said Mr. Bulaev. “All of them submitted letters about their attitude to this situation, which stated that they consider voting in these territories possible.” . Such a decision is a huge responsibility, the deputy chairman of the Central Election Commission emphasized, and there is probably an opportunity to refuse, because the circumstances are difficult. “But if you and I make a different decision, then the majority of people living there will not understand us,” he added.

The decision on the possibility of holding elections to the legislative assemblies of the DPR, LPR, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions was already made by the Central Election Commission last summer, and in September 2023 the first elections under Russian legislation were held in these regions. As a result, it became clear that the electoral system formed in this fairly short period of time in four regions is not only workable, it works extremely professionally, said Mr. Bulaev.

After this, the heads of the election commissions of the new regions reported on their readiness for the upcoming campaign via video conference. “As for threats, the war is going on, there are threats. But, in my deep conviction, all threats are covered by the motivation with which fellow countrymen are waiting for these elections,” said Vladimir Vysotsky, chairman of the DPR election commission. According to him, the region is ready for the upcoming campaign: commissions have been formed, regional fragments of the State Automated System “Elections” are working, all system administrators have been trained, and PEC members have already gained experience in organizing elections. “What else to say? We are ready, we are waiting for this moment, I hope everything will be fine,” Mr. Vysotsky concluded his speech.

“Our territorial and precinct commissions are trained and ready for elections, but the most valuable thing is the opinion of our voters,” said the deputy chairman of the LPR election commission, Marianna Sumskaya. “We recently communicated with them, and they fully expressed their position regarding the fact that they will come to the elections. They want to participate in this, since this is a historical event for the LPR, and people want to feel involved in these great events.”

Olga Romashchenko, deputy chairman of the Zaporozhye region commission, also asked for the residents of her region. “We see the mood of the people, we see their desire and readiness to participate in the elections,” she said. “We have experience in holding elections under martial law, including holding early and multi-day voting.” Election commissions have been formed, Ms. Romashchenko reported, meetings have been held with law enforcement agencies to ensure security, routes and the number of groups going on these routes have also been discussed.

Marina Zakharova, the chairman of the Kherson region election commission, also reported on readiness for the elections – however, she noted, given the difficult situation, it was impossible to form territorial election commissions in eight municipal districts and of the 14 created, half were located not in administrative centers, but in the building of the regional election commission. However, the chairman of the commission added, consultations with the security bloc take place in the region almost every day, they have worked through all the problematic situations that arose on a single voting day, and are confident that they will be able to minimize possible risks.

This is truly a historical moment, CEC member Andrei Shutov supported his colleagues from the new regions, because presidential elections, he explained, are the absolute legitimation of new entities within the Russian Federation.

CEC member Nikolai Levichev recalled that during the campaign the Central Election Commission has the right to suspend and resume electoral actions in certain areas “in the event of one or another development of the military-political situation.” He promised that the commission will constantly interact with the Ministry of Defense and the FSB, monitoring the situation. “We will not allow threats to the safety of life and health,” Nikolai Levichev assured. As a result, the Central Election Commission voted unanimously for elections in the new territories. The commission is expected to approve the distribution of funds allocated from the budget for elections, including to new regions, on Wednesday, December 15. Let us remind you that the total cost of the campaign (including the second round) could reach 33.2 billion rubles.

Anastasia Kornya