Translated material
Disgraceful credit
United Russia decided not to cancel mayoral elections until 2009
Yesterday, the United Russia party once again demonstrated its democratic essence. At a meeting with the participation of United Russia mayors and the leadership of United Russia, which took place on Monday in Moscow, it was decided that the election of mayors cannot be abolished. Members of this party Vladimir Mokry, Vladimir Zhidkikh and Alexey Ogonkov proposed making appropriate amendments to the current legislation on local self-government a month ago. The amendments were considered and approved by the relevant Duma committee, but yesterday the head of United Russia, State Duma Speaker Boris Gryzlov publicly promised fellow party mayors “to prevent the adoption of the amendments in the proposed form.” On the eve of the federal elections, in the presence of a new pro-Kremlin party in power - A Just Russia - United Russia decided not to quarrel with the mayors of large cities, who met these initiatives with hostility.In mid-October, the head of the Duma Committee on Local Self-Government, Vladimir Mokry, made another attempt to find a way to influence mayors who are not part of the government system. With his colleagues, he submitted for consideration to the State Duma draft amendments to the law “On the General Principles of the Organization of Local Self-Government,” which granted subjects the right to determine the form of local self-government in regional capitals. Thus, local self-government can move down from the level of regional centers to the level of intra-city territories. According to the authors of the bill, the subjects of the federation themselves must decide whether to omit it or not.
In the amendments, the title of one of the articles “Features of the organization of local self-government in the federal cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg” is proposed to be supplemented with the words “administrative centers, capitals of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation.” The fact is that in the two Russian capitals - cities of federal significance - there is a special form of local self-government: according to the Constitution, the cities themselves are considered subjects of the federation, and local self-government operates only in intra-city territories. The same scheme is proposed to be extended to all regional capitals, supplementing the article of the law on local self-government with the provision: “In administrative centers, capitals of constituent entities of the Russian Federation, the implementation of local self-government is provided either within the boundaries of the administrative center, capital of the constituent entity of the Russian Federation, or in intra-city territories.” It will turn out that the management of these cities will actually become the responsibility of governors, and unwanted mayors (for example, the newly elected mayor of Samara, Viktor Tarkhov from the Russian Party of Life under United Russia governor Konstantin Titov) will become figureheads.
At the same time, the authors of the amendments do not intend to cancel the results of the popular elections of mayors of the capitals of Russian regions, held before the law came into force; only the degree of authority of the elected mayors can be clarified. If passed, the law would come into force on January 1, 2007. Then the governors (most of whom are members of the United Russia party; just yesterday the party was replenished with another head of the region - Governor of the Stavropol Territory Alexander Chernogorov) would have the opportunity not only to remove from power those who, in their opinion, cannot cope with the work of regional heads capitals, but also to abolish the institution of mayoral elections altogether. According to the new law, the elected mayor can be replaced either by appointing his own person or by forming a collegial body to manage the city.
Having learned about his colleagues’ initiative, Boris Gryzlov hastened to declare that he did not want the mayoral elections to be cancelled. Moreover, the first reading of the law in the State Duma, scheduled for November 8, was canceled, and the party leaders decided to “meet for consultations” with United Russia mayors. About 50 city governors came to Moscow yesterday to speak out against their own appointment and complain that neither the logic nor the motivation of the initiators of the bill were explained to them. Mr. Mokroy, the head of the relevant committee, was not invited to this meeting for explanations, but, according to deputy Valery Galchenko (head of the All-Russian Council of Local Self-Government), he himself did not ask.
At the meeting, the State Duma speaker admitted that the system of local self-government in Russia is imperfect. And during the closed part of the event, as the mayor of Kyzyl Dmitry Dongak told Vremya Novostei, Mr. Gryzlov even promised “not to touch the issue of appointing mayors until 2009.”
Indeed, on the eve of the parliamentary and presidential elections, it is unprofitable to spoil relations with the mayors of large cities of United Russia. This is all the more unprofitable in a situation where the old party in power is hot on the heels of a new one - A Just Russia. And the struggle for administrative resources in the regions on the eve of the federal elections threatens to intensify. Although the mayors have joined the United Russia party in orderly ranks, they are not ready to give up their independence.
The mayor of Yekaterinburg, Arkady Chernetsky, bluntly said during a break in the meeting that if United Russia passes a law abolishing mayoral elections, it will lose significant support in cities in future elections. And the head of Barnaul, Vladimir Kolganov, told Vremya Novostey that if the amendments are adopted, “difficulties may arise in organizational work on the eve of the elections.”
There is another problem in appointing mayors in any way, but with the participation of governors - a constitutional one. According to the Constitution, local self-government is not included in the system of state power. True, the authors refer to the decision of the Constitutional Court for the Republic of Udmurtia, which stated that the subject has the right to determine the level at which local self-government is exercised. However, if we remember how easily the Constitutional Court changed its decision when it came to the “political situation” and the abolition of the election of governors, this deputy argument is not very convincing.
The mayor of Chelyabinsk, Mikhail Yurevich, when asked how he felt about the amendments threatened by the mayors, answered: “Philosophically.” “It’s not at all difficult for the governor to force the mayor to do something; there are very specific financial levers for this. And it practically doesn’t matter whether the mayor is appointed or elected,” he believes. True, the classic conflicts between mayors of large cities and governors do not fit into this explanation.
The relationship with the governor and the head of Kostroma, Irina Pereverzeva, is not going as well as we would like: “It’s hard to work with a female mayor—you can’t go to the bathhouse, you can’t talk.” Nevertheless, it would not be so important whether the mayor is elected or appointed from above, Ms. Pereverzeva explained, if the powers between the levels of government are well delineated and provided for financially. “But in our situation, I am against the appointment,” she added.
Since the bill that caused a stir has already been submitted to the Duma, deputies are obliged to consider it. But its future in its current form, according to deputy Valery Galchenko, is illusory. And if you believe Mr. Gryzlov’s words yesterday, the fate of the bill is predetermined - it will be rejected.