Statement of the YABLOKO party, October 25, 2013

The YABLOKO party expresses it strong disagreement with adoption by the State Duma of the Russian Federation by new changes once again turning inside out the electoral law.

Reacting to the growing discontent of the Russian citizens and realizing that it can no longer get a majority in the proportional representation voting system the [ruling] United Russia party sees its salvation in a shift towards the majoritarian voting system.

Experience demonstrates that a victory in a single-mandate precinct implies a large amount of financial and administrative resource and, with rare exceptions, allows only representatives of the authorities to be elected. In order to preserve its majority in the regional parliaments, the United Russia party proposes to reduce the number of deputies elected by party lists to 25 per cent.

Abrupt shifts of the electoral system from the mixed to the proportional representation and back again demonstrate to Russian voters and the world the absurdity of the Russian legislative process.

A provision of the bill allowing to Moscow and St. Petersburg to completely abandon elections as of party list elections looks event more absurd.

However, in this case, the absurd is accompanied by a gross violation of the Constitution. Article 5 of Russia’s Fundamental Law guarantees equality of the Russian Federation subjects.

The proposed law gives to Moscow and St. Petersburg more rights in setting their electoral systems than other regions that have a ceiling of 25 per cent [of candidates elected on party lists].

Due to its political interests the ruling party is ready for destruction of the party system in the tow major Russian cities, and consequently in the whole country.

Such policies can not be considered far-seeing, especially in the face of obvious increase of social tensions. Being deprived of their parties in the parliament, the protest layers of the society will be increasingly trying to realise their activity in the streets.

We demand that the State Duma must reject the unconstitutional bill in the third reading and finally cease its infinite and unprincipled changes of electoral legislation in the interests of certain parties.

Sergei Mitrokhin,
Chairman of the YABLOKO party