The Kremlin is waiting for the acting governors autonomy
The administration of President distanciruemsa from manual management of regional political problems in the election.
A new political reality in the gubernatorial elections will provide a team of regional leaders in the first place — acting who apply for these posts for the first time. The Kremlin will primarily monitor the implementation of the electoral process by all standards of law and will not interfere in internal political processes, including directing the campaign. The responsibility for the outcome of the election will be borne by the governors. On this approach, “Izvestia” said two people close to the leadership of the political block of the Kremlin.
In presidential administration (AP) point out that changes due to the advent in the regions new generation of politicians.
— The average age of candidates in governors — 44 years. They need to build a real political process, — told “Izvestia” a source in AP.
A new team of internal political unit intends to primarily implement the principle of “legitimacy through legality”, explained another source. It is, therefore, important that the integrity of the electoral process. Artificially directing a competitive campaign in the regions, the curators of the political block of the Kremlin does not intend, affirm the interlocutors of “Izvestia” — the number of “sparring partners” in the elections cannot be considered an indicator of competition and legitimacy of the campaign.
The sources of “News” drew attention to the fact that the actual level of competition in the September elections of heads of regions is not lower than in the previous regional campaigns.
— Of all the gubernatorial campaigns of recent years, only one ended in victory for opposition in elections where he was competing with United Russia — it was the Irkutsk oblast in September 2015, — said another source edition. In two cases the situation was on the verge of the second round, but the vote ended in favor of the incumbent. We are talking about elections in the Amur region and in the Republic of Mari El.
According to him, in 2017, a competitive campaign may be deployed in Buryatia and in the Kirov region, where the teams, acting opposed to a strong regional policy — Senator Vyacheslav markhayev (Communist party) and the Deputy of the state Duma Cyril Cherkasov (LDPR). Non-linear, could also be a campaign in Perm region, where from the party “Cities of Russia” stands for the non-systemic opposition politician Konstantin Okunev. In the Yaroslavl region’s opposition forces had planned to go to elections with a single candidate, but are unable to agree among themselves — as a result “Fair Russia” refused to nominate a party member Anatoly Greshnevikov against the background of six candidates from the other opposition parties.
What they say in the regions
In the regions, “Izvestiya” told that the contacts with the political unit of the AP on the eve of regional elections are carried out in a regular mode.
Our contacts with officials from the office of the President on domestic policy can be considered excessively small. As always, they monitor the socio-political situation in the region. Depending on the commands of the political unit, the only change is the degree of depth of this monitoring.Vadim Devicevery Deputy head of administration of the Governor of Sverdlovsk region
In the Kaliningrad region said that Moscow this season gave the installation on the primary observance of all norms of the electoral legislation.
— We follow the task to conduct the campaign as legitimate. For this our team is working on proper informing of the population about the elections, creates the conditions for a comfortable vote of citizens, and also deals with the prevention of violations of the law, — have informed “news” the acting Deputy head of the government of the Kaliningrad region Alexander Torba.
He stressed that for the convenience of the citizens of the regional legislative Assembly has increased the time for voting by two hours (this required the adoption of a regional law). It is assumed that in a day this will help citizens be more comfortable to enter the campaign at the polling station in your schedule.
What the experts say
Experts believe that the reason the Kremlin refuses to solve the political problems of the regions in the manual mode, is that the update command of the political unit works in a new reality.
None of the presidential administration is not going to artificially “pump up” the competition in the elections. Moscow will not be calling each municipal member and specify who to give the signature, and for whom not. It all lies in the work of local officials. They are responsible for the legitimacy of the elections they face.Andrew Koledintseva laboratory of regional policy AISI
He stressed that during the electoral campaign to increase awareness and understanding of what is happening in the subject are not officials in Moscow, and regional. Through this awareness they can properly assess risks and competence of decisions.
According to the head of the “Fund of research of problems of democracy,” Maxim Grigoriev, the modern electoral system requires widespread public scrutiny.
— I know that public chambers in the regions are making efforts to monitor election campaigns to prevent violations. We sought to create the conditions under which those who violate election laws, run the risk of incurring significant reputational risks, — has declared “news” the expert.
According to political scientist and Professor HSE Oleg Matveycheva, heads of regions always had to solve internal problems.
Connection of the administration of President occurs when the Governor is unable to cope with the crisis situation. From Kremlin officials surely there are other tasks to which they devote their time, — the expert believes.
He also stressed that the competitive situation in the gubernatorial elections is not associated with the presence in the legislation of the municipal filter. According to Oleg Matveycheva, the filter serves as a barrier to prevent ingress of the Bulletin of unprepared politicians.
Filter was conceived not only as a “sieve”, but also as an incentive for parties to intensify work at the municipal level. If the party does not work on the local level, it will not be able to nominate their candidates for the gubernatorial election, he said.
The expert also noted that the relevant law entered into force in 2012, so the contestants had enough time to prepare.