Grigory Yavlinsky was re-elected Chairman of the Yabloko Association at the 8th Congress of the Association held on July 8-9, 2000.

The results of the secret ballot demonstrated that 128 delegates voted for Grigory Yavlinsky and 10 against.

Vladimir Lukin was re-elected First Deputy (199 votes for and 19 against).

The Congress brought together 140 delegates from 57 regional organisations. The Congress passed a decision to establish a Public Council under the Association to attract representatives from public and professional organisations to work with Yabloko and establish a dialogue with the public.

A Committee for Civil Control was also created: it will control the observation of human and civil rights by the authorities.

A network of Yabloko’s bureaux (Ed. where public can discuss any problems they have with their local deputy) will be established. The 8th Congress of Yabloko approved a new management structure in Yabloko envisaging that the Central Council will act as a managing body between congresses and will comprise 60 members.

This congress elected only 47 members of the Central Council: by-elections will be held place at Yabloko’s regular congress in December 2000. Each of the directions of work in the Association will be headed by a secretary proposed by the Chairman and approved by the Central Council.

At present eight directions have been determined: party building, work in the State Duma, elections, interaction with the authorities, ideology, information policy, public relations and general party projects. There will also be party arbitrage, programme and staff commissions.

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Yabloko has begun to collect signatures to make amendments to the Constitution, which would stipulate direct common and secret ballot elections for the Federation Council.

The provision on direct common and secret ballot elections to the Federation Council was written in Yabloko’s programme and was confirmed by the 8th Congress of the Yabloko Association (on July 8-9, 2000).

Yabloko believes that such an amendment to the Constitution on direct elections to the upper chamber of the Russian parliament would constitute a continuation of the reforms of the Federation Council conducted by the President.

The Congress recommended that the faction continue to collect the 90 signatures required to include this issue on the agenda of the State Duma. To introduce an amendment into the Constitution, it should be approved by two-thirds of State Duma deputies, three-fourth of Federation Council representatives and two-thirds of the legislative assemblies of the federation subjects.

The text of the amendment to the Constitution will be prepared by the deputy from the Yabloko faction, Deputy Chairman of the Committee for State Construction, Sergei Popov (St. Petersburg).