The ban on elections will be adjusted

On October 24, 2013, a group of deputies led by the Chairman of the Committee on Constitutional Legislation, Vladimir Pligin, introduced a bill to the State Duma, according to which participation in elections as candidates for citizens convicted of committing serious crimes is not allowed for 10 years, and especially serious crimes - for 15 years. years from the date of removal and expungement of a criminal record.

Thus, it is expected to correct the situation that arose after the adoption on April 2, 2013 of the amendment to Law No. 67-FZ “On Basic Guarantees of Electoral Rights and the Right to Participate in Referendums of Citizens of the Russian Federation”, according to which the ban on passive voting rights for this category of citizens was for life .

The bill was developed in pursuance of the decision of the Constitutional Court. On October 10, 2013, the Constitutional Court upheld the complaints of six citizens who did not receive access to elections, recognizing that the actual lifelong loss of rights of citizens who have been convicted at least once in their lives is unconstitutional. According to the court, such a restriction of the right to vote for those convicted of grave and especially grave crimes is possible, but it cannot be “indefinite.” “Long periods of restriction of passive suffrage,” according to the court, are possible “in exceptional cases for certain grave and especially grave crimes, based on the increased degree of their social danger.” However, according to the new bill, the innovation will apply to all serious or especially serious crimes without exception.

We consider the restrictions introduced by the amendment to be generally justified. Note that the amendment of April 2 spoke not only about those convicted of serious and especially serious crimes, but also about crimes of an extremist nature, and the latter category is absent in the new bill. However, it is worth noting that the bill transferring some extremist crimes to the category of serious crimes has not yet been adopted, but can be adopted at any time. And given the current state of the Russian judicial system, which allows for a large number of abuses, including in the area of ​​application of anti-extremist legislation, the authorities really have the opportunity to influence the election process.

Sources

• Khamraev Victor. Deputies introduce a half-life ban // Kommersant. 2013. October 24.
• Bill No. 368581-6 On amendments to the Federal Law “On basic guarantees of electoral rights and the right to participate in a referendum of citizens of the Russian Federation” (on the issue of limiting the electoral rights of certain categories of citizens of the Russian Federation) // Website of the State Duma of the Russian Federation. 2013.