Based on the publication in 7×7, 19.10.2020

On 15 October, deputies of the Legislative Assembly of Karelia adopted, in the first reading and by a majority of votes, several bills that deprive citizens of the right to observe regional and local elections of citizens from other regions. In the near future, such initiatives will be considered by the parliaments of other subjects of the Russian Federation.

Karelian parliamentarians voted on three bills at once, which envisage the same changes in the procedure for electing a governor, regional and municipal deputies. We are talking about the possibility of a three-day voting and the admission of those observers to the elections in the Republic of Karelia and local elections who have a Karelian residence permit. The current version of the electoral laws provides for voting within one day and there are no restrictions on the place of residence for observers. According to the authors of the idea, a citizen wishing to observe regional or local elections must live in the same territory, having an active suffrage there. Thus, observers are “tied” to their voting region, and citizens who have arrived from other regions of the country are excluded from the observation.

Emilia Slabunova, Yabloko MP and member of the party’s Federal Political Committee, voted against the new bills. She compared the “binding” of observers to the regions with serfdom which was abolished in Russia in 1861. The parliamentarian considers such an approach to electoral legislation unacceptable, since it limits the possibilities of citizens, who are free in their movements and choice of place of residence, to control the electoral process.

“The introduction of such a serfdom-based supervisory law is unacceptable,” Emilia Slabunova says. “You cannot drive observers into regional cages, because every citizen has the right to life in a state governed by the rule of law in accordance with Article 1 of the Constitution. Everyone should enjoy freedom of movement, freedom to choose a place of residence, the rights of all citizens apply in the same way throughout the territory. Therefore, citizens who are worried about the legitimacy and quality of power – and this is ensured by the quality of elections – should be able to control the state and the electoral system. And this kind of public control at the elections is one of the guarantees of the preservation of our state as a law-governed state.”

It should be noted that the authors of the amendments to the election legislation of Karelia were several members of the United Russia faction [representing the ruling United Russia party] with a representative of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation who joined them. The deputies explain their actions by the need to bring regional legislation in line with federal standards.

On 21 July, 2020, the State Duma adopted a law that established new rules for holding elections at all levels. Now, instead of one day, electoral commissions have the right to vote for three days. The amendments also allow holding elections outside voting premises, for example, in adjoining territories or public places. The same law also envisages a rule limiting the rights of observers: now citizens can participate in public control over regional and local elections only in the subject of the Russian Federation where they have the right to vote, that is, at the place of their registration. On 31 July, the President signed this law; on 6 August, it came into force.

Based on the publication in 7×7