Press Release, 28.10.2020

Photo: The results of voting on the bill submitted by Maxim Kruglov, head of the Yabloko faction in the Moscow City Duma

More than a third of the Moscow City Duma deputies supported the Yabloko bill on responsibility and accountability of the President and the Government of Russia to Parliament.

The draft federal law on the amendment to the Constitution (read the text in Russian), submitted by the leader of the Yabloko faction, Maxim Kruglov, envisaged the following:

– empowering the parliament with the right to oblige the President to submit an extraordinary message to the Federal Assembly if a majority of the members of any chamber speaks in favour of it;

– oblige the Prime Minister to raise before the State Duma the issue of confidence to the Government if the decline in the Russian economy or the fall in the living standards of the Russian citizens continues for two years in a row;

– empower the Federation Council with the right to set the President’s salary; whereas such salary cannot exceed 2.000 per cent of the minimum wage;

– oblige the President to report to parliament for the implementation of the government’s strategies, including strategies for national, public and economic security.

“The creation of mechanisms of responsibility of the Government and the President, their accountability to the Russian Parliament will contribute to the transition from the present system of authoritarian rule, which is characterised by the concentration of all powers in the hands of the President and the executive branch, to a more effective implementation of the principle of separation of the branches of power, restoration of democratic institutions, construction of modern an effective state based on the rule of law, responsible and accountable to the citizens of the Russian Federation,” the explanatory note to the document runs.

Representatives of all the Moscow City Duma factions, except for the progoverment United Russia voted for this bill – 16 deputies out of 45 deputies of the Moscow City Duma in total; 25 deputies voted against, and one abstained.