"United Russia" took control of the Vladimir electoral commission

Yesterday the Central Election Commission proposed that the Vladimir Region Election Commission approve United Russia member Vladimir Komatovsky as its chairman. The communists believe that during the formation of the regional election commission the principle of “one party - one member of the election commission” was violated.

On July 8, the Central Election Commission (CEC) recommended that the governor and legislative assembly of the Vladimir region appoint two representatives of United Russia to the regional electoral commission (decision of the presidium of the party’s general council dated June 9): the head of the apparatus of the party faction in the legislative assembly, Vladimir Komatovsky, and the deputy head of the education department of the city administration, Vladimir Vadim. Minaeva. According to paragraph 4, “no more than one representative from each political party can be appointed to the election commission... A political party... does not have the right to simultaneously propose several candidates for appointment to one commission.” The head of the legal service of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, State Duma deputy Vadim Solovyov sees this as a violation of clause 4 of Art. 22 of the law “On Basic Guarantees of Electoral Rights...” and told Kommersant that the Communist Party was going to challenge the composition of the election commission in court.

Control over the regional election commission is important for the party in power ahead of the elections to the legislative assembly, which are scheduled for the spring of 2009. In the region, United Russia is rather in opposition - the speaker of the legislative assembly, Anatoly Bobrov, is a member of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, and Governor Nikolai Vinogradov only suspended his membership in the Communist Party at the beginning of 2008.

Yesterday, during a meeting of the Central Election Commission, Elena Dubrovina, a member of the Central Election Commission from the Yabloko party, asked whether Mr. Komatovsky, given his past place of work, could be “equally distant for all parties” and “won’t turn the election commission into the headquarters of United Russia.” “I think that when planning the composition of the election commission, we foresaw a certain compromise,” answered Mr. Komatovsky. “According to my estimates, there are 12 people in the regional election commission - these are representatives of United Russia, and plus there has also begun a shake-up of the entire apparatus. Guys are coming who know what an order is, what discipline is and what and for whom they should do,” he claims Mr. Soloviev. In his opinion, having gained control of the regional legislative assembly, United Russia will try to gain all power in the region.

According to Georgy Chizhov, vice-president of the Center for Political Technologies, “Nikolai Vinogradov lived quite peacefully with the local United Russia,” his entire administration “has long been composed of United Russia members, and he is not a problem for the federal authorities.”

Yuri Kommersant-Borisov, Vladimir; Natalia Kommersant-Bespalova

The Central Election Commission bends the party line