regional policy

Today, the Samara regional election commission will try for the fourth time to approve the results of the presidential elections in the Russian Federation. The previous three attempts failed due to lack of quorum - four members of the commission did not appear at the meeting without explanation. In fact, the reason is known: this is a struggle for control over the Samara city election commission between the regional governor Konstantin Titov and the mayor of Samara Georgy Limansky.
The meeting of the regional election commission was scheduled for Monday, March 22. But due to the lack of a quorum, it did not take place on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday. As the head of the regional election commission, Fyodor Sadchikov, told Kommersant, seven people do not come to the meetings. Three are for valid reasons, and four, supporters of Georgy Limansky, are most likely deliberately boycotting the meetings. According to Mr. Sadchikov, on Monday he reported to the Central Election Commission about the first disrupted meeting and provided information about the voting results in the presidential election. “The situation is ambiguous and has no precedent,” the head of the regional election commission complained and said that he would try to judicially remove the “truants” from the commission.
Local experts believe that the reason for this behavior of a number of members of the regional election commission is that the agenda of both the canceled and the meetings scheduled for today also includes the issue of the number of election commissions of municipalities. By law, regions can independently determine their quantitative composition, but it must be no less than 9 and no more than 12 people. They include representatives from each parliamentary party (United Russia, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, the Liberal Democratic Party, the Rodina bloc), two nominees of the regional election commission and representatives of the public.
It is the composition of the Samara City Election Commission, which is now headed by the mayor’s ally Sergei Nikologorsky, that has become a stumbling block, since the commission’s term of office expires on March 31. If a new composition of 12 people is elected, then half of the seats (at the expense of “representatives of the public”) will almost certainly be taken by people loyal to Mayor Limansky. Then it is they who will determine the balance of power in the commission and elect their chairman. At the same time, the new election commission will hold elections for deputies to the city duma on July 4 of this year, and in the summer of 2005 - elections for the mayor of Samara.
Konstantin Titov, whose longtime opponent is Mr. Limansky, is in favor of having nine people on the city election commission, which will allow the governor to maintain control over the commission. As Kommersant was told by Mr. Titov’s entourage, “Konstantin Alekseevich will try with all his might to prevent the election of a tame city council for the mayor and the re-election of Limansky for a third term.” The governor needs the loyalty of the City Duma, since the mayor of Samara will become his most likely rival in the gubernatorial elections this fall. Therefore, with the participation of the regional government, amendments to the regional law “On Local Referendum” were developed and adopted on March 23 by the regional Duma in the first reading, establishing that the number of all local election commissions should be nine people. However, the law is unlikely to come into force before the expiration of the term of office of the city election commission.
In turn, Georgy Limansky has repeatedly spoken out in favor of maintaining the existing procedure for electing members of the commission, thus seeking to re-candidate Sergei Nikologorsky for the post of head of the city election commission. On March 23, after a meeting of the City Duma, the mayor said that “the city election commission is one of the elements of influence on the election process,” and said that representatives of “certain financial and industrial groups who are afraid of our influence” are trying to reduce the number of members of the city election commission.
ALISA Kommersant-ALEXANDROVA, Samara

Newspaper "Kommersant" No. 53 dated March 25, 2004, p. 3

Samara Election Commission ignores presidential elections