Valentin Konovalov will retain the post of governor of Khakassia

In Russia, elections of heads and deputies of regional legislative assemblies, held from September 8 to 10 in 85 regions, have ended. The current governor of Khakassia, Valentin Konovalov (KPRF), based on the results of processing 52.77% of protocols, wins the election of the head of the region with a result of 63.05% of the votes, reports a Vedomosti correspondent from the CEC information center. In second place is the LDPR candidate Mikhail Molchanov – 14.3%. Third place is occupied by Vladimir Grudinin (“Communists of Russia”) – 12.3%.

The Communist Party of the Russian Federation also has a chance to maintain its position in the Supreme Council of the republic: after processing more than 43% of the protocols, they are in the lead and gain 38.3% of the votes. They are followed by United Russia – 37%, and the LDPR is in third place by a large margin – 7.3%. The top five parties are closed by “New People” – 4.5% and “Party of Pensioners” – 3%. However, the election results for single-mandate constituencies are still unknown.

The parliament of the republic consists of 50 people. Some deputies are elected by party lists, some by constituencies. In the elections to the Supreme Council of the Republic in 2018, United Russia received 17 mandates, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation – 16, LDPR – nine, A Just Russia – For Truth and Communists of Russia – two each, Patriots of Russia had one mandate each ” and the Party of Pensioners, there were also two self-nominated candidates. Nine parties took part in the 2023 elections: in addition to the five parliamentary ones, there were also “Communists of Russia”, “Rodina”, “Parzas”. The list of communists was headed by Konovalov, United Russia State Duma deputy Sergei Sokol. On September 2, he withdrew from the election of the head of the republic. On September 1, he arrived in Moscow, held a meeting with the CEO Russian Railways Oleg Belozerov, as well as Deputy Prime Minister Victoria Abramchenko, who oversees the government of Siberia, and then ended up in the hospital.

Before Sokolov’s candidacy was withdrawn, all experts during the 2023 regional election campaign called the elections in Khakassia “intensely competitive.” In FoRGO, for example, as Vedomosti wrote on August 31, they talked about the likelihood of a second round (it is believed that with a repeat vote, it is always more difficult for the current leaders of the region to be elected), and interlocutors close to the presidential administration believed that the head could win in the first round .

The head of the St. Petersburg Politics Foundation, Mikhail Vinogradov, believes that it is too early to talk about the balance of power in the region and the possible opposition of parliament to the governor. “The center does not yet have an unambiguous attitude towards Konovalov’s new term – the expectations for his replacement were too high,” the expert noted. “Regional parliaments in Russia are still weak players in order to play an independent role and be subjects,” he concluded.

Konovalov faces a difficult second term as governor of Khakassia, points out political scientist Rostislav Turovsky. At the same time, both he and the Communist Party of the Russian Federation bear even more responsibility. “For every mistake, and even without it, Konovalov will be criticized, and the question of his resignation will be raised from time to time. And the main question here is federal: Konovalov is vulnerable,” he concluded.

Alexander Tikhonov took part in the preparation of the material