| Moscow supports the president's decision, but seeks its cancellation While emphasizing his loyalty to the Kremlin, Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov appears to be trying to distance himself as much as possible from the bargaining over giving Moscow the exclusive right to elect a mayor.
On Saturday, Yuri Luzhkov publicly disowned the legislative initiative of the Moscow City Duma under his control, which demanded that the rule on electing the heads of Moscow and St. Petersburg be returned to federal legislation. “The candidacy of the mayor of Moscow, like the heads of other subjects of the federation, must be proposed by the President of Russia and approved by the local legislative body. I supported and support the president on this decision,” said Yuri Luzhkov, emphasizing that the new system has been introduced for all regions of the country, without exception.
Let us recall that a bill providing for the preservation of the right of residents of Moscow and St. Petersburg to elect heads of executive power was submitted to the Moscow City Duma by the Yabloko faction last month. As one of the authors of the bill, Moscow City Duma deputy Evgeniy Bunimovich, explained to a Vremya Novostei correspondent, according to the Constitution, all Russian citizens have the right to local self-government. The subjects of local self-government include public transport, engineering infrastructure and much more, therefore, in cities of federal significance - Moscow and St. Petersburg - the right of citizens to local self-government is seriously limited by federal legislation in order to preserve the unity of the city economy. Until now, the lack of rights of 125 Moscow municipalities was compensated only by the fact that the main functions of local government were performed by a popularly elected mayor. With the introduction of a new procedure for the approval of the mayor by the City Duma on the proposal of the President of Russia, residents of Moscow and St. Petersburg will actually lose their constitutional right to local self-government, the deputy believes.
Moscow City Duma deputies were supposed to consider the bill last week, but at the last moment the document was withdrawn from consideration “for technical reasons.” Apparently, behind-the-scenes negotiations between Moscow and federal authorities are still ongoing. If an agreement cannot be reached and the bill is submitted to the State Duma, then any attempt to appoint or reappoint the capital’s mayor will require solving the problem raised by the capital’s deputies of infringement of the constitutional right of Muscovites to local self-government. It can be resolved either by the President of Russia, providing in his “vertical of power” an exception for the heads of Moscow and St. Petersburg, or by the Constitutional Court. Alexander GUDKOV |
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