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Novaya Gazeta, September 2, 2004
The Duma Under Control
Amendments to electoral laws essentially mean a one-party system in Russia
By Yana Serova

Russia's next parliament may have no independent members at all.

United Russia didn't secure its constitutional majority in the Duma solely due to its party members being elected. Some Duma members elected as independents in single-mandate districts subsequently joined the United Russia faction - and they have proved to be the faction's most recalcitrant members, as the recent debate over social benefits legislation has shown.
This loophole seems likely to be closed by the next Duma elections: we will elect the next Duma solely via party lists. Under the pretext of "making some corrections" to electoral legislation, the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) has actually launched fundamental reforms to Russia's electoral system.

Background

The existing electoral system (225 Duma members elected via party lists, and 225 elected in single-mandate districts) was introduced in 1993.

Throughout his time in office, Boris Yeltsin, who didn't have a truly strong party under his control, sought to rewrite electoral laws. In 1995, Yeltsin proposed that only a third of Duma members should be elected via party lists; but the first Duma voted down that proposal, and subsequently the Communists became the second Duma's largest faction.

The major innovation this time involves abandoning the combined electoral system. The CEC's plans speak of "the possibility of electing all Duma members according to the proportional voting system" - in other words, solely via party lists.

Not many parties will be granted access to federal parliamentary elections. To participate, they will need to have regional lists in 72 regions. Only United Russia and the Communist Party (CPRF) are likely to achieve this goal. Until now the parties have made their own decisions on how to compile regional lists of candidates - depending on which regions are the strongest. Of course, the CEC has promised to make sure that at least four parties are represented in the Duma; in other words, even if some parties fail to reach the threshold of 7% of the vote, the top four parties will still make it into the Duma. The main problem will be finding four parties. Forming electoral blocs will either be forbidden or made more difficult.

Only one of the revolutionary changes is clearly directed against United Russia: the proposal that parties fielding candidates who have no intention of actually serving in the Duma should lose the Duma seats won by those candidates. The seats would be given to other parties. If that standard had been applied in the December 2003 elections, it would have done substantial damage to United Russia, as the party had 27 incumbent regional leaders on its Duma lists.

But all the other innovations certainly tend to favour the Kremlin-backed party - whatever it may be called by the next elections.

The strangest idea in the new proposals concerns independent candidates in the regions. According to the CEC, they will be allowed to run for election in competition with parties. If an independent manages to get more votes than any party's entire regional list (a task even the CEC calls "extremely difficult"), they will win the Duma seat. When asked what an independent is supposed to do in a Duma made up of several factions, where independents would have to join a faction anyway, CEC member Olga Zastrozhnaya, responsible for compiling the new proposals, only shrugged her shoulders: "Who knows?"

Following the "public debate" scheduled for September and October, these proposals to amend electoral laws will be submitted to the Duma in November. If they are passed, the next Duma will be dominated by United Russia again. But this time there won't be any Duma members elected in single-mandate districts, nor any independent initiatives.

Arguments in favour of the CEC's proposals:

According to the CEC, most votes in single-mandate districts are wasted. A candidate can win with 25% of the vote, for example - but the remaining 75%, cast for various other candidates, have no effect on representation in the Duma. Single-mandate district elections in the regions involve excessive use of state administration resources and bribery. Following established habits, most Duma members elected in single-mandate districts have subsequently joined party factions, rather than representing the interests of their district's voters alone.

Arguments against the CEC's proposals:

Many votes cast for party lists are also wasted: citizens who voted for Yabloko, the Union of Right Forces, the Pensioner Party, or the Agrarian Party are not represented in the present Duma. The December 2003 elections demonstrated that state administration resources are used to benefit pro-government parties more than anyone else. Independent candidates, not supported by any parties, have been able to run for parliament in single-mandate districts. But now they may lose their constitutional right to run for public office.

Comments from CEC member Elena Dubrovina:

The resolution adopted by the CEC only opens the debate about reforms to the electoral system, and reforms to the Duma, in effect. These changes will primarily lead to Duma members being entirely dependent on party authorities. Anyone who wants to run for the Duma will have to be on a party list. Of course, there are also plans to allow an alternative option - independent candidates challenging parties - but personally, I find that hard to imagine.

 

See also:

State Duma elections 2003

State Duma Elections 2007

Novaya Gazeta, September 2, 2004

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