Press Release, 23.11.2022

Photo: Yaroslav Shcherbakov / Photo by the Yabloko Press Service

Yaroslav Shcherbakov, Chairman of the Chelyabinsk regional branch of the Yabloko party, sent a proposal to each deputy of the Legislative Assembly of the Chelyabinsk region to amend the Regulations of the Legislative Assembly so that to eliminate violations that prevent public participation in the meetings of the Assembly. On 24 November, the Legislative Assembly will consider the budget of the Chelyabinsk region for 2023, which will take place without public hearings and “outsiders”.

According to the Federal Law, any political party not represented in the regional legislative body has the right to participate in its meeting at least once a year. At the same time, the issues considered at such a meeting, as well as the procedure for participation, must be determined by the law of the subject of the Russian Federation or by the regulations.

Instead, the deputies of the Legislative Assembly of the Chelyabinsk region gave the Presidium and the Regulations Committee the authority to select questions for the meeting and determine the procedure for participation in it.

“Naturally, such important issues as the adoption of a draft budget or a report on the results of its implementation do not get in the meeting chosen by the Presidium [for the public]. At the same time, public hearings on these issues have been virtually canceled allegedly due to the coronavirus and have not been returned so far. An alternative opinion and proposals should be heard when adopting important decisions, you can’t constantly pretend and “pull the wool over the eyes”. If our proposal is ignored, we will apply to the court to declare this part of the Regulations invalid and contradicting the federal law,” Yaroslav Shcherbakov wrote in his Telegram channel.