Koryak deputies unanimously approved Alexey Kuzmitsky as head of the Kamchatka Territory

Yesterday, deputies of the Koryak District Duma vested the powers of the first governor of the Kamchatka Territory, Alexei Kuzmitsky. The day before, an extraordinary session of the regional parliament dedicated to the appointment of the head of the new united region was disrupted due to the fact that five communist deputies, led by Duma Speaker Nina Solodyakova, left the meeting room. For quorum and voting by appointment, the presence of just one deputy was not enough. Yesterday, seven out of 11 deputies voted for the candidacy of Mr. Kuzmitsky; four deputies of the Communist Party faction did not appear at the meeting. Overnight, only the chairman of the Duma budget committee, Alla Ostapova, was convinced. Yesterday, deputies of the Koryak District Duma brought up for the second time at an extraordinary meeting the issue of vesting powers with the head of the Kamchatka Territory, Alexei Kuzmitsky. The day before, the session was disrupted due to a conflict between the Communist Party faction in the Duma and the rest of the deputies. Representatives of the Communist Party insisted on postponing the voting date, citing the fact that they do not know the candidate nominated for approval by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Duma Speaker Nina Solodyakova said at a Duma meeting on Thursday that “deputies can vote today, but then the next day they will forget about Koryakia.” One of the communist speakers even suggested postponing the confirmation of Alexei Kuzmitsky as governor of the region for six months in order to “take a closer look at him.” Speaker Solodyakova spoke in favor of a less radical option - to postpone the Duma session dedicated to voting on the candidate proposed by the president until July 6. However, the majority of deputies (among them three deputies from United Russia, one from the Liberal Democratic Party, one from the Union of Right Forces and one non-party member) spoke out against the Communists’ proposal to postpone the date for discussing the gubernatorial candidate. A five-hour break was announced at the session for consultations on a controversial issue.
When the break ended, United Russia members proposed returning to the issue of vesting powers with the governor of the Kamchatka Territory, Mr. Kuzmitsky, but the Communist Party faction (five out of 11 deputies of the district Duma) left the meeting room, thereby depriving the meeting of a quorum (seven people. - “Kommersant”).
As Kommersant learned yesterday, at night gubernatorial candidate Alexey Kuzmitsky (and already half the governor of the Kamchatka Territory - on May 30 he was confirmed in this position by the regional parliament) held consultations with members of the Communist Party faction. As a result, in the morning at the newly convened meeting of the district duma, the chairman of the budget committee of the duma, Alla Ostapova, joined the six deputies ready to vote on the presidential candidacy.
According to Kommersant's information, the remaining four members of the Communist Party faction tried to prevent the communist Ostapova from her intention to attend the session. Eyewitnesses of the events say that they tried to hold the apostate by the hands and clothes so as not to let her into the hall. However, Alla Ostapova went there, despite the obstacles that arose in the form of her party colleagues. First of all, she warned the six assembled deputies that she would be present only if the issue of Nina Solodyakova’s resignation from the post of speaker was not raised (remember that all non-communists are advocating for the resignation of the speaker in the Koryak parliament). The required quorum of seven people was reached. Parliamentarians almost immediately moved on to voting. It was open and by name (the day before, the communists had demanded a secret procedure). All seven people present at the meeting voted for the candidacy of Alexey Kuzmitsky.
According to Alexander Denisov, a member of the United Russia faction in the district Duma, Alla Ostapova compromised with the majority after a conversation with the current head of Koryakia Oleg Kozhemyako, which took place on the night of Thursday to Friday. Mr. Denisov said that the conversation between the governor of Koryakia and Comrade Ostapova “lasted about an hour, and Oleg Kozhemyako found arguments to influence her decision.” “Of all the communists, it turned out to be the easiest to convince Alla Ostapova. She is the chair of the Budget and Finance Committee. Oleg Kozhemyako, perhaps, using the language of numbers, showed her what amounts the region would lose if the candidacy of Alexei Kuzmitsky was not approved,” said Alexander Denisov.
As Alla Ostapova herself told Kommersant, “the main factor that influenced me was the interests of the majority of residents of the district.” “This is a very difficult decision for me, but I made it consciously. The main thing for me is not to harm people living in the district,” Alla Ostapova explained her position. The chairman of the budget committee found it difficult to answer whether any organizational measures of an internal party nature would follow her decision.
Chairman of the Koryak District Duma Nina Solodyakova was not available for comments yesterday - she attended the funeral of a member of the Duma staff.
Governor of the Kamchatka Territory Alexey Kuzmitsky will take office on July 2, after the creation of a new subject of the Russian Federation is officially announced on July 1.
Roman Yarmoshevich, Palana

Kommersant (Khabarovsk) No. 95 from 02.06.2007

Half became whole overnight