The leader of A Just Russia, Sergei Mironov, during a speech from the faction at a meeting of the State Duma on the eve of May 17, proposed to postpone the single voting day (UDG) to 2023 in connection with a military special operation in Ukraine. Federal law can be changed before the campaign starts, but it’s unlikely they’ll do it, experts say.
“We support the president in this hall, we all support a special military operation, and in elections we should talk regarding our contradictions, regarding what we disagree with,” lead Mironov’s words “Vedomosti”. “Let’s send money to our army, to our liberated territories.”
According to him, “the real Russian elite is being forged on the fronts”: “Let’s, when they return with a victory, we will hold elections!” Mironov announced the statement on May 8 in his Telegram channel: “I am reading letters to my Internet reception. A lot of people ask: “Do we need the EDG in September of this year?”.
In the speeches of other deputies at the beginning of the meeting of the State Duma, which was held for the first time since April 21, the topic of postponing the elections was not raised. The first deputy head of the United Russia faction, Dmitry Vyatkin, who oversees lawmaking, refused to comment on Mironov’s statement to Vedomosti.
Presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov, following the statement of the leader of the Just Russia party, told reporters that there were no decisions on the issue of postponing the September regional elections in the Kremlin.
“While it [только] Mironov’s proposal,” says a source close to the presidential administration.
At the same time, it is still possible to legally implement the decision before the start of the election campaign, says the source of Vedomosti, who is close to the leadership of the State Duma. The appointment of regional elections begins on June 2, and following that it will no longer be possible to change the rules for their conduct.
That is, as explained to Vedomosti lawyer Oleg Zakharovuntil June 1, the federal law that will allow the transfer of the EDG to 2023 should come into force: “In this case, it is impossible to do without changing the federal law, unlike changing the format for electing governors – in direct elections or by deputies of the regional parliament.”
“With a complete “symphony of the authorities,” the amendments can be adopted in 10 days,” says lawyer Garegin Mitin. “It is only a question of political will and objective validity of this decision.” If for the conditional border Belgorod region, a change in the federal law might be relevant this year, then for remote regions such grounds are not visible, he believes.
If it were decided to amend the federal legislation, then Art. 8 FZ-67 (on the basic guarantees of electoral rights and the right to participate in a referendum of Russian citizens), says Mitin. As a basis for extending the terms of office of certain public authorities, the law “does not name” a special operation and related events, he emphasizes.
The authorities, of course, can propose changes to the electoral legislation, but they are unlikely to follow this path, says election expert Grigory Melkonyants. The elections may be postponed by the decision of the Central Election Commission of Russia, he notes: “This is a new authority of the commission, which can be implemented with the introduction of a high alert regime or an emergency situation.” It allows to postpone the elections, explaining this by the “epidemiological situation”.
Political scientist Alexei Makarkin recalled that there were already leaks in the media that the elections might be postponed, but they have not yet been implemented. The initiative expressed by Mironov is “not consensual” for the authorities, because otherwise United Russia would have initiated it, Makarkin is sure.
“Parliamentary parties always have a common position on foreign policy and defense-related issues. This has never prevented the holding of elections,” he said. Head of the Civil Society Development Fund Konstantin Kostin. The expert believes that now the patriotic consensus can play into the hands of the parliamentary parties.
If you fear the impact of economic factors due to sanctions, then the situation may just worsen later, he notes. Therefore, most likely there will be elections in 2022, Kostin adds: “It is possible that A Just Russia and its leader are worried regarding their results or are trying to increase their presence on the information agenda.”
