YABLOKO’s deputies adopted a declaration on restoration of local self-government
Press release, 17.12.2016
Restoration of the local self-government is one of top priorities of the country. We can overcome the crisis only by achieving the balance between the interests of the federal centre, regions and local self-government. The participants of All-Russia Forum of YABLOKO’s deputies adopted the following declaration.
Today local self-government as a primary and primeval form of democracy is fully diluted and the bodies of local self-government became appendages of government bodies, the declaration runs.
According to YABLOKO’s deputies, the solution embraces the real federalisation of the country and provision of financial independence of the regional and local budgets.
This way, the party stands for exclusion of the practices of senseless circulation of funds from the municipal unit to the budgets of higher levels with their subsequent return to the same municipality as the inter-budgetary transfers.
35 per cent and 15 per cent of revenue should remain in regional and local budgets respectively. The right to establish and administer regional and local taxes and dues should be returned to regional and local authorities.
YABLOKO’s deputies claim that in order to improve the independence of regional and local bodies of power one needs to provide real political competition, return direct elections of mayors and heads of districts, lower electoral thresholds.
YABLOKO also supported removal of restrictions in order to conduct local referendums.
Local self-government is not just local authorities which provide public services, it is the foundation of the entire political and economic system. No problems of the country can be solved without a developed, real and independent local government, because the public needs of citizens are formed and expressed at the local self-government level, in the first place, runs the declaration adopted at the Forum.
All-Russia Forum of YABLOKO’s deputies took place in Moscow on December 17. YABLOKO is represented in four regional parliaments: St. Petersburg, the Republic of Karelia, the Pskov Region, and the Kostroma Region. The party is also represented in municipal assemblies in 26 regions of Russia including such cities as Vladimir, Kaliningrad, Kostroma, Novgorod, Perm, Pskov, Tomsk, Yarosavl.
Posted: December 19th, 2016 under Elections.