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| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
| Putin Proposes Stringent New Electoral Rules |
| 2005-04-14 |
| Russian President Vladimir Putin has submitted a proposal to the State Duma to change the electoral law of the country, the Kremlin press service reports. The amendments to the current legislation are the result of a planned move from a mixed to a purely proportional representation electoral system. But experts say that voters in Russia's regions will be able to elect a certain number of candidates, distributed proportionally among parties accordingly to the quantity of votes received in each region, only in 20-30 years' time. The draft stipulates that coalitions during elections will also be banned, and if an elected deputy switches factions during a Duma term he risks losing his seat. The draft would also reduce the number of invalid voters' signatures allowed when preparing an application to stand in an election from 25 to 5 percent of the necessary 200,000. The state financing of the leading parties will be significantly increased as of Jan. 1, 2006. Moreover, the president suggests making the second Sunday of March the unified day for elections of all levels. The first Sunday of October was given as a reserve day. During the consideration of the amendments in the lower house of the parliament Putin's point of view will be presented by the chairman of the Central Election Commission |
| Posted by:Anonymoose |
| #9 Putin's a puppet. Mark my word: he's not likely to survive his term, esp if oil prices decline. The real power center in that country is in an alliance of two sets of "oligarchs," those outside the government who kowtow to it, and those inside the government who set the rules. The latter group includes heavy representation from the security services-- ie the figures who found and promoted Putin and who dominate his government now. Think of Putin as Musharraf in whiteface. |
| Posted by: thibaud (aka lex) 2005-04-14 11:26:28 PM |
| #8 Putin Proposes Stringent New Electoral Rules "When I or any of my flunkies run for office, you will vote for us, and no one else." |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2005-04-14 10:59:46 PM |
| #7 Stalin wrote the book. King County Dems are amateurs. |
| Posted by: ed 2005-04-14 9:47:15 PM |
| #6 I think an individual election system is healthier for democracy because each member of the legislature has their own base of power (electoral district) and must answer to their electorate. In a party slate, the party leaders control whether a candidate is on a list or not. In that case, their power, privilege and loyalty is to the party bosses, and leads to an easily abused concentration of power. I think the greatest flaw in the Iraqi electoral system is this party slate. The parliament and executive branch members are chosen by the leaders of DAWA, SCIRI, PKK, etc., and only indirectly by the voters. |
| Posted by: ed 2005-04-14 9:45:15 PM |
| #5 Seattle's Kings County Dems have a lot they could teach Vlad about winning regardless of the vote count |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-04-14 9:43:31 PM |
| #4 OK, I'll bite. There are really two questions here. One is, are individuals easier to control inside or outside strong political parties? Clearly they are easier to control outside strong parties, since getting members to agree to and stick to a program is pretty much the sole function of a political party. The other question is, is it easier to control large numbers of individuals (a majority) with strong political parties (implicitly without agreeing to their program)? I would argue no, for the same reason as in question one, it is directly contrary to why political parties exist. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2005-04-14 9:28:43 PM |
| #3 And, for all the marbles... Which is easier to control: 1) Parties 2) Individuals [Play something similar to Final Jeopardy music here while you ponder...] |
| Posted by: .com 2005-04-14 8:01:06 PM |
| #2 This appears to be a move to strengthen political parties and decrease the influence of individuals. Good for democracy IMHO. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2005-04-14 7:17:12 PM |
| #1 I have no doubt that, regardless of any impressions otherwise, this is just another step in the long-term plan leading to Tsar Putty's coronation. |
| Posted by: .com 2005-04-14 5:50:28 PM |