Putin: You can’t cancel the election of mayors

The mayors of cities should not be appointed, but elected by residents and remain close to the people. President Vladimir Putin said this at a press conference.

"Mayors, of course, only choose. We are members of the European Charter (about local self -government. - Ed.), But the point is not only this. The fact is that the municipal level is the closest level of power to people, to the people. And therefore, these are the leaders of the municipalities such people should be such people personally, they can come to them, discuss, express their position, and achieve this one positions, ”the president said.

He said that he had recently met with all the leaders of the country's municipalities and noted that there are very good personnel. "I know that they are scolded the most, well, right - this is the most advanced edge of the struggle for the best future, and they have the most difficult thing. A very complex, heavy, dangerous males of power," Putin said. He would like "that the municipal level of power to be forge of personnel" for the regional and federal level of power.

Putin admitted that the two -level system of local self -government adopted in Russia is bulky and ineffective. In some places, due to the lack of money from the municipal level, education and medicine were seized, that is, municipal powers were actually emasculated, the president noted.

"It is necessary to either add sources, or come to terms with the fact that it is impossible to do this at the municipal level. I did not specifically offer solutions. On the contrary, I turned to municipal associations so that they themselves proposed these decisions in the dialogue with regions," Putin said. He emphasized that it is impossible to delay this.

On December 12, when the message was announced to the Federal Assembly, the president did not touch the topic of election of mayor. However, he stated the need to clarify the general principles of the organization of local self -government.

Previously, reports appeared that radical reforms of the power system in cities are being prepared. As the Kremlin source told the Rain television channel, the elections of mayors will be canceled , and city legislative bodies are liquidated. According to the source, the heads of regions will be appointed mayors. At the same time, citizens will still be able to choose heads of districts and district deputies.

“The main innovation is a change in the vertical in place to avoid conflicts, as in Astrakhan or Yaroslavl,” the interlocutor of Rain explained. Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov did not confirm and did not refute this information.

On December 9, Vedomosti reported that United Russia is preparing proposals for the new procedure for nominating candidates to mayor of cities and heads of districts from the party.