Regional Election Commission fines deputy for financial indiscipline

Yesterday, the deputy chairman of the election commission of the Irkutsk region, Elena Romanova, said that a protocol on an administrative offense drawn up by the regional election commission No. 14 (district No. 14, the city of Usolye-Sibirskoye and Usolsky district) against the deputy of the legislative assembly of the Irkutsk region Viktor Belousov was transferred to the prosecutor's office of the city of Usolye-Sibirskoye. The Usolsk election commission assures that it has still not submitted the final financial report on the expenditure of funds from the election fund. According to employees of the regional election commission, this is the first such case in eight years in the Angara region. The deputy himself said that he submitted all the necessary documents three weeks ago and accused the employees of the Usolsky District Election Commission of bureaucratic delays.

Kommersant

Elections to the Legislative Assembly of the Irkutsk region took place on October 10 this year. They took place in 22 single-member constituencies. 23 mandates were distributed among deputies who were on the lists of the parties “United Russia”, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, “Rodina”, the Agrarian Party of Russia, the Russian Party of Pensioners and the bloc “For the Native Angara Region!” In district No. 14, having received 28.93% of the votes, the then general director of Usolenefteservis, Viktor Belousov, won. The closest competitor, Director for General Issues of Usolyekhimprom LLC, Leonid Ivanov, lagged behind him by almost three percent (26.08%).

Yesterday, Deputy Chairman of the Regional Election Commission (OEC) Elena Romanova presented a report from the control and audit service of the OEC on the results of the campaign for the election of deputies to the Legislative Assembly (LA) of the Irkutsk region. She reported violations of election legislation by candidates running in single-mandate constituencies. In particular, after the elections, all candidates had to submit a final report on the expenditure of financial resources from the election fund, which includes bank documents confirming the legality of the receipt of money into the fund (a little more than 1 million rubles) and its expenditure on campaigning in the media, rental of premises, transport , salary, etc. Some, such as Yuri Tashlanov (who ran in district No. 15 - Cheremkhovo), did not submit a final financial report on the expenditure of funds from the election fund on time. District Election Commission No. 15 has already drawn up a protocol on an administrative offense and the former candidate faces a fine of 2 to 2.5 thousand rubles.
Also facing a fine is the deputy from district No. 14 (Usolye-Sibirskoye and Usolsky district) Viktor Belousov, who, according to Ms. Romanova, has not yet provided the final financial report. His case was transferred to the prosecutor’s office of the city of Usolye-Sibirskoye, which “may come to the next session of the Legislative Assembly with a proposal to transfer the case to court.” According to OEC Chairman Viktor Ignatenko, this is the first time in eight years of his practice that a candidate does not provide final financial statements. “We need to pass a law at the federal level according to which such deputies will be deprived of their mandate. If you don’t bring a report, the mandate is on the table,” Mr. Ignatenko spoke in favor of tightening legislative norms. Elena Romanova suggested that Mr. Belousov had “problems with primary financial documents.” “Probably, there is something to hide,” added one of the OIC members. “These are his problems,” Viktor Ignatenko was inexorable, “the law must be respected.”
After the meeting, Viktor Ignatenko, in a conversation with journalists, said that “wide publicity at the Legislative Assembly session is primarily disadvantageous for the newly elected deputy,” after which he expressed hope that Viktor Belousov would bring the necessary documents. “Otherwise he will be fined until he does this,” Mr. Ignatenko threatened. He explained that the case will be taken to court even if the deputy provides the necessary documents, since in this case it will be considered that they were presented late.
Viktor Belousov, having learned from a Kommersant correspondent about the fine he was facing, stated that all the necessary documents in full were provided three weeks ago, the day after members of the Usolsk Regional Electoral Commission demanded them. “Moreover,” he continued, “last week I went to the chairman of the regional election commission to get the final voting protocol. He didn't tell me anything about any documents. And he never provided me with the protocol.” Mr. Belousov is confident that he did not deliberately violate the law, and if he submitted the documents at the wrong time, it was only through the fault of the employees of the regional election commission, who “held it to the very point of “I can’t,” and then demanded a report.” The deputy is sure that bureaucratic delays in the Usolsky District Electoral Commission are to blame.

DIMITRY ELOVSKY

Kommersant (Irkutsk) No. 234 dated 12/15/2004

“If you didn’t bring a report, the mandate is on the table”