Translated material
Big election story...
...or just call me now: Vladimir Evgenievich.
There is such a well-known movement: the organizing committee of protest actions. This is a group of people that more or less spontaneously formed in December 2011 (remember those first meetings of the organizing committee, the broadcasts of which were watched by so many?), and in the format of which very different people - liberals, leftists, nationalists, and simply civil activists of various, sometimes radically opposing views. And by the way, it’s very cool that they learned - in itself this is a great achievement of the Russian protest winter.
And now the organizing committee of the protest actions has come up with a new story, under the code name “opposition primaries”, or, more strictly, “elections to the coordinating council of civil society.” This is a very good and correct story, no matter how you look at it. We don’t know how events will develop in Russia. Maybe everything will collapse very quickly - then here’s to you, at least some kind of parliament, at least some kind of bearer of legitimacy. Maybe the end will be painful and long - OK, during this time, in the format of a “coordination council”, representatives of various political and civil movements will have time to develop some kind of common agenda, an action plan for the transition period, a constructive program of reforms; this will all fit very well. Maybe (although I don’t believe in it), the current government will last until the parliamentary elections of 2016 - well, thanks to the work of our “proto-parliament” we will already have seasoned political fighters, with real experience of parliamentary democracy, elections, and so on .
In any case, the creation of a body that legitimately represents the Russian protest movement is a very important and correct story. Identifying new people with potential in public policy, finding new ideas, avoiding disputes on the topic “who are all these people” when coordinating and preparing the next rallies, round tables or even negotiations, simply practicing normal politics - all this can only be regarded positively .
That is why, when the organizing committee of protest actions entrusted me with holding and organizing such elections as the chairman of the Central Election Commission (CEC), I agreed.
Formal press release - below the cut:
Elections to the Coordination Council of the Russian Opposition will be held on October 7.
On July 31, the working group of the organizing committee of protest actions formed the Central Election Committee and announced the start of a campaign for elections to the Coordination Council of the Russian Opposition.
On October 7, for the first time in many years, free, democratic, national elections will be held in Russia, at which a representative body (coordination council) of the Russian opposition will be elected.
All citizens of Russia can participate in the elections who have registered as voters of this Council and thereby defined themselves as supporters of systemic changes in the country - from an authoritarian regime to a representative democracy, with a real separation of branches of power, the responsibility of power to society and its regular renewal as a result of fair competition according to transparent rules.
Based on free voting, it will be possible to show who personally represents the interests of those people who took part in protests in Russian cities starting in December 2011.
It will identify new people who will be ready to conduct a political campaign, attract supporters, agitate people and demonstrate a specific program of action.
In the course of free voting, it will be possible to work out a mechanism for holding fair democratic elections throughout the country, as well as restore the culture of pre-election campaigning and elections, which has largely been lost over the past 15 years. In addition, it will be possible to work out voting mechanisms on electronic platforms.
A total of 45 people will be elected to the Constitutional Court. 30 of them are elected by all registered voters in the all-Russian constituency, and another 15 - taking into account their affiliation with opposition organizations: left, liberal, nationalist - 5 people from each group of organizations in three “ideological” constituencies.
The election process is organized and ensured by the Central Election Committee (CEC), which is formed according to the following principles:
the chairman of the Central Exhibition Committee is appointed by the working group of the organizing committee of protest actions;
three members of the Central Military Commission are sent by ideological curias (one committee member from each curia);
three members of the Central Election Commission are delegated by well-known public organizations that have gained authority during election observation;
two members of the Central Exhibition Committee from among experts in the field of information technology are invited by the chairman of the committee.
Voting will take place simultaneously offline and online.
Offline elections will be held at special polling stations organized in most regions. Their creation will be carried out by regional election commissions. Typically, voting will take place during large public events.
Indicative schedule:
before August 15, the formation of a package of documents, approval by the organizing committee and publication of the rules for the upcoming elections;
September 1 begins the nomination and registration of candidates;
September 1, the start of the information campaign;
Voter registration begins on September 15;
October 5: end of voter registration, compilation of voter lists;
October 7 is voting day.
Everyone's off to the polls!
Contact person: Chairman of the Central Exhibition Committee Leonid Volkov, lv@leonidvolkov.ru, +79222055500
Is everything clear? I'm not quite there yet. But we will break through.
One question torments me: should I grow a beard?