Two members of the election committee of Khakassia resigned after the scandal with the registration of the KPKR

Two members of the election commission of Khakassia have resigned after the scandal with the registration of the Communist Party “Communists of Russia” (KPKR). Last week, the electoral committee did not allow her list to run for the elections to the Supreme Council of the republic, and the party’s nominee for the elections of the head of Khakassia. The Communist Party of the Russian Federation, whose representative Valentin Konovalov is running for a second gubernatorial term, opposed admission. However, the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation intervened in the situation, registering the KKKR and its candidate by its decision. Probably, he will also appoint two new members of the commission, which can provide the opponents of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation with the majority of votes necessary for decision-making.

The Electoral Committee of Khakassia prematurely terminated the powers of two of its voting members – Tamara Shirkovets and Larisa Efimenko-Mikhailova. “The decision was made on the basis of an appeal received from the chairman of the Supreme Council, and taking into account personal statements,” the commission explained to Kommersant.

According to Kommersant’s information, the appeal was that the parliament could not meet to terminate their powers, since it had already completed the spring session. In this case, the right to make a decision passes to the election commission itself, which he used.

The current composition of the commission was formed in 2021, its term of office expires in 2026. The electoral committee consists of 14 voting members: seven from the head of the region and seven from the Supreme Council. According to the parliamentary quota, representatives of United Russia (ER), the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, New People, Just Russia – For Truth (SRZP), the Liberal Democratic Party and the Communist Party of the Kyrgyz Republic passed to the commission.

Tamara Shirkovets, who works as the head of the coordinating and analytical department of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic, nominated the SRZP to the electoral committee, the director of the State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company “Khakassia” Larisa Efimenko-Mikhailova – “New People”. But on July 11, 2023, the powers of both were suspended. In the case of Mrs. Shirkovets, the reason was the nomination of her mother, Olga Shirkovets, as a candidate from the SRZP for the election of the head of Khakassia and deputies of the Supreme Council. Mrs. Efimenko-Mikhailova, in turn, became a candidate for deputies herself, and from the United Russia.

As Tamara Shirkovets told Kommersant, in her resignation she indicated “family circumstances” as the reason, and called her desire to vacate her seat “frank and sincere.” It was not possible to contact Larisa Efimenko-Mikhailova “Kommersant”.

After the suspension of the powers of two representatives of the parties, the number of members of the electoral committee with the right to vote was reduced from 14 to 12, and due to the illness of another member, to 11.

As a result, as reported by “Kommersant”, the commission was unable to make a decision on the registration of the KKKR candidate Vladimir Grudinin for the post of head of Khakassia and the party list with his participation in the elections to the Supreme Council. Some members of the electoral committee supported the position of the Communist Party, which claimed that Mr. Grudinin is still formally a member of its ranks and cannot run for another party. As a result, just two votes were not enough for registration.

After the CEC complained to the Central Election Commission (CEC), it took over the powers and on July 27, recognizing the inaction of the republican election commission as illegal, registered Vladimir Grudinin as a candidate for the post of head of the republic. And on August 2, a similar decision was made in relation to the list of 76 people of the KKKR.

At the same time, neither the chairman of the Central Election Commission, Ella Pamfilova, at the meeting on July 27, nor her deputy Nikolai Bulaev, who held the meeting on August 2, expressed any claims against the chairman of the electoral committee of Khakassia, Alexander Chumanin. The CEC member Konstantin Mazurevsky, who is in charge of the region, did not do this either, and on August 2 he met with members of the republican commission. “The situation is extraordinary. Of course, we will keep our finger on the pulse. But if a member of the election commission or a rival electoral association believes that their rights have been violated, they have the right to go to court against the CEC,” he said on the air of the local RTS TV channel.

According to the election commission, Mr. Mazurevsky also noted “that interference in the work of election commissions by the executive authorities is unacceptable.”

According to the republican law “On the Electoral Commission”, in the event of early termination of the powers of its member, appointed on the proposal of a political party, the vacant seat is filled upon the proposal of the same party. In this case, they must be appointed by the Supreme Council. But since the parliament will not be able to convene until autumn, the right to fill vacancies in the election commission will go directly to the CEC.

Valery Lavsky, Novosibirsk