Vice-Dean of the Law Institute of the Far-East State University; Chairman of the Election Committee of Primorye Territory, professor, Doctor of Law.
Constitutional strengthening of federal system and republicanism as an integral part of Russian nationality implies necessity of adequate integration of federalism and elections. In this regard, we focus especially on the electoral federalism issues implying, along with provision of Russian Federation electoral system unitary basics, fundamental opportunities of the Federation entities to consider issues on organizing and holding elections on their territories independently. At least such approach to correlation of federalism and elections on the state (national) and regional levels of public power is declared in a number of articles of the Russian Federation Constitution, as well as decisions of the Russian Constitutional Court.
However, recently undertaken efforts on strengthening electoral framework of state power and the present electoral and legal practice prove that adequate correlation of federalism and elections faces considerable difficulties resulted in obvious growth of federal center to the detriment of regional autonomy in the sphere of electoral relations. To assure oneself in it we need to see how the interests of Federation and its entities are taken into account while considering the following issues on:
- election types and their admissibility on various levels of public power;
- election legislation and its structure;
- election systems, which can be used at federal and regional elections;
- system of election committees providing organization and holding elections.
Speaking about elections and their admissibility to various levels of
public power we should note that at first Constitution of Russia (Article
11) and Federal Law on “Basic Guarantees of Electoral Rights and Right
of Russian Federation Citizens for Participation in the Referendum” (Item
9 Article 2) accept usage of institute of elections while forming an
unlimited number of authorities and officials of public power on all (federal,
regional, municipal) levels of its implementation. It’s hard to find
there a direct prohibition for using elections in any subjects of
state or municipal power. However, if we refer to another legislative
acts we can easily find direct limitation of autonomy of the Russian
Federation entities in order to choose some or other methods of
forming independent state power authorities. So, Article 18 of the
Federal Law on “Common Principles of Organizing Legislative (Representative)
and Executive Authorities of the State Power of the Russian Federation
Entities” specifies that the position of the head of the Russian
Federation entity is carried out by appropriate authorization under
recommendation of the Russian President.
This rule completely cuts out holding governors’ elections.
As a result, despite the guaranteed by the Constitution right to form
their own authorities of the state power independently, the Federation
entities have no opportunity to use elections for taking the position
of the governor (head of superior executive authority of the state
power). If we add to this fact that the “appointed” governors have an
opportunity to “appoint” half of Federation Council members (supreme
chamber of the Russian Parliament) we will understand that today
resignation from elections is sacrificed to the Russian nation
strengthening which mission is to provide unity and integrity of
Russia, even if it damages electoral federalism.
According to the Russian Federation Constitution, electoral
legislation, though it is not directly named in the constitutional
text, is a subject of joint competence of the Russian Federation and
its constituent entities. It is proved in the Article 1 of the Federal
Law on “Basic Guarantees of Electoral Rights and Right of Russian
Federation Citizens for Participation in the Referendum”, which says
that the structure of electoral legislation includes federal laws,
laws of the Russian Federation entities and even rules of municipal
formations. Moreover, analysis of the Russian Constitution shows that
the privilege of federal center in the field of legislative election
regulation is given to consolidation of the principles of election
rights, regulation of citizens’ election rights and fixation of their
main (federal) guarantees. Other issues of legal provision in
organizing and holding elections can be settled by the Federation
entities at their own convenience.
However, the context of the Federal Law on “Basic Guarantees of
Electoral Rights and Right of Russian Federation Citizens for
Participation in the Referendum” shows that federal legislator almost
monopolized the right of lawmaking in the sphere of electoral
relations. Actually the list of rights of the Federation entities in
the considered sphere tends to zero and we can speak about regional
electoral legislation and its anyhow notable role in the structure of
contemporary Russian electoral legislation with great embellishment.
As for electoral system and right of choosing its one or another
variant, though the Russian Constitution provided practically
unlimited freedom for regional work in this sphere, today federal
legislation actually divests Federation entities from such opportunity.
As a result there is much reason to speak about independent choosing
of electoral system by municipal formations (to be compared with
Federation entities).
In this regard, there is a tendency towards more unification of
principle basics as well as specified details of electoral systems on
all public authority levels. Thus, electoral practice more distinctly
takes the features of “unitarianism” indicating virtual character of
the Russian federalism, including elections, formation of the system
of election committees as independent authorities providing
organization and holding elections, as well as federal status of
Russia. This fact demands certain independence of the Russian
Federation entities in forming election committees on the regional
level. However, rules and procedures of appointing members of election
committees and, particularly, process of committee chairmanship
actually put aside Federation entities from the process of forming
regional election committees and transferring the system of election
committees from the organized combination of relatively independent
federal, regional and municipal elements into the centralized
electoral vertical as a result. Election committees of the Federation
entities are more focused on the Russian Central Election Committee,
which doesn’t facilitate real federalism of the Russian electoral
system.
To sum up the above-mentioned we would make the following conclusion:
federalism and elections are undoubtedly recognized and declared by
the Russian Constitution as fundamentals of the Russian nationality.
However, constitutional proclamation of federalism, including
electoral sphere, doesn’t automatically guarantee electoral federalism
in reality but implies pertinacious efforts of the center and regions
to use advantages of federalism and elections. Otherwise, as it
happens in the contemporary Russian environment, we will be forced to
have a unified electoral vertical in practice together with
constitutionally declared electoral federalism.