Translated material
sacred cow
The Duma does not want to abandon popular presidential elections
Two proposals for radical changes to the Constitution were on the agenda of yesterday's plenary meeting of the State Duma. The author of the first of them, independent deputy Viktor Pokhmelkin, proposed establishing direct elections of members of the Federation Council. The initiator of the second proposal, representative of the LDPR faction Alexei Mitrofanov, put forward the idea of canceling direct presidential elections, entrusting this mission to parliamentarians.Since, according to the rules of the chamber, one deputy does not have the right to introduce a constitutional bill to the Duma, support for the initiative by a simple majority (226 votes) would mean the very fact of its submission to the chamber for consideration.
Speaking on the draft resolution “On the State Duma’s proposal for amendments to the Constitution,” Viktor Pokhmelkin reminded his colleagues of the history of the abolition of direct elections of members of the Senate. “In 2000, when direct elections were abolished, we were told that this procedure was temporary. I remember very well the fiery speech of the then presidential representative in the State Duma, Alexander Kotenkov, who assured that direct elections would return,” said Mr. Pokhmelkin. In his opinion, now the relevance of direct elections is becoming more acute. “The refusal to directly elect heads of constituent entities of the Russian Federation and elect State Duma deputies exclusively on party lists weakens the influence of regions on national politics. Thus, there is a sharp tilt towards the unitarization of Russian statehood, the deputy believes. “Direct elections of members of the upper house of parliament make it possible to restore the shaky edifice of Russian federalism.”
The chairman of the specialized committee on constitutional legislation and state building, Vladimir Pligin, told deputies that, in the opinion of the committee, the Constitution should be stable and change only when absolutely necessary. “The current Constitution has not yet exhausted its functions,” the head of the committee believes. “We may have to adopt the practice of prohibiting changes to the Constitution within five to seven years. A similar practice exists in many countries,” added Mr. Pligin in an interview with a Vremya Novostei correspondent. - At this stage we understand that we live in a transition period. And after the next presidential elections, it will be possible to raise the question of the requirement for legislative stability.” At the same time, Mr. Pligin admitted that the issue of electing members of the Federation Council could be resolved within the framework of other legislation. However, the committee decided not to support the idea of amending the Constitution.
The communists actively stood up for Mr. Pokhmelkin’s initiative. “With the abolition of direct gubernatorial elections, we see a gross violation of the principle of separation of powers,” said Oleg Smolin, a member of the Communist Party faction, speaking at the meeting. -- Appointees appoint appointees on the recommendation of the appointee - the President's representative. As for stability, we know that the greatest stability is in the cemetery. Let's make sure that we don't have such stability. Who said the Constitution is a sacred cow?
The coordinator of the Communist Party faction, Sergei Reshulsky, told Vremya Novostei: “Our faction was against the abolition of direct elections of senators back in 2000, and now we will fight for their restoration.”
As a result, only 98 deputies voted for Deputy Pokhmelkin’s initiative, with the required minimum of 226.
The chamber did not have time to discuss Alexei Mitrofanov’s proposal yesterday; its consideration was postponed until today. A member of the LDPR faction proposes to elect the president not by popular vote, but by two-thirds of the votes of State Duma deputies - in order to save money. “All funds spent during the election campaign actually go into the sand, without benefiting the state and society as a whole. These funds are simply wasted, when they could be invested in economic development. Or simply given to those in need,” says the draft Mitrofan resolution. At the same time, the author believes that the next presidential elections should still be held according to the old system. “We believe that during this time the party system in Russia will strengthen... Well, during this time public opinion should “get used” to the corresponding idea,” the document says.
Apart from the LDPR, no one is going to support the draft resolution - neither the Duma majority, nor the opposition, nor the relevant committee. “Refusal of direct presidential elections is essentially wrong,” Vladimir Pligin told Vremya Novostey.