Parliament plays a significant role in the life of any state. Therefore, elections to the State Duma are of interest to both Russian citizens and foreign observers. This process must be legal, open, legitimate. In previous years, there was a lot of criticism from the non-systemic opposition. In their opinion, elections to the State Duma are held with violations. Let's not delve into their argumentation, but analyze the order and system of the process in order to understand who distort the facts and try to influence public opinion in their favor.
Appointment of elections
According to the basic law of the state, deputies of the Duma must work for five years. At the end of this period, a new election campaign is organized. It is approved by presidential decree. Elections to the State Duma must be announced between 110 and 90 days before the date of voting. According to the Constitution, this is the first Sunday of the month after the expiration of the term of office of deputies.
In 2016, the order was revised at the insistence of the people's representatives themselves. It was decided to postpone the elections to the State Duma of the Russian Federation on a single voting day (September 18). This innovation is framed by a special law, which is considered by the Constitutional Court. This body decided that a slight deviation from the fundamental law does not lead to serious violations. Subsequent elections will now be combined with a single voting day.
Election system
A person who goes to vote should know what he has to decide. The fact is that the system itself has changed in Russia. Through trial and error, they tried to find the best way. In 2016, elections to the State Duma will be held according to a mixed system. This means that half of the deputies will be determined by party lists, the second - personally in single-member districts.
That is, each voter will receive two ballots. In one, it will be necessary to note the party that a person trusts, in the second - personally the candidate for deputy from the region. Note that this was the system in 1999, 2003 and earlier. The process is organized by the CEC. The commission controls the nomination of parties and candidates, their funds, campaign work and more. Any violations are recorded by this body. Legally sound decisions are made on them.
The order of elections to the State Duma
The political struggle is replete with many nuances. Conducting elections to the State Duma is no exception. A special order has been legislated that cannot be violated. To take part in party elections it is necessary:
- collect 200 thousand signatures, not more than 10 thousand in one subject of the Russian Federation;
- send the list for verification to the CEC;
- get an answer;
- if it turns out to be positive, you can start the election campaign.
These items have their own subtleties. So, signatures will be seriously checked for authenticity. To make sure, the party has the right to enlist the support of more citizens than necessary. But their number should not exceed the legislatively fixed 200 thousand by 5 percent. In addition, parties previously represented in parliament are exempted from the process of reaffirming popular support. They do not need to collect signatures. In 2016, such a right will be exercised:
- "United Russia";
- LDPR;
- "Fair Russia";
- Communist Party.
There is a nuance associated with the regional binding of candidates from the party list. It should be divided into territorial groups. The successes of each are taken into account when distributing deputy mandates.
Voting
This is the most visible, except for agitation, stage of the election. All citizens of the country who are already 18 years old on this day have the right to vote. In order to take part in a plebiscite, you must come to a special site. You should have a passport with you. After receiving the newsletter, you need to go with him to a special booth. Voting is secret, that is, a citizen makes his choice personally, without announcing it. In the ballot, you should put any sign (cross, tick) opposite the party or candidate. Then he needs to be sent to a special sealed ballot box.
The conduct of elections to the State Duma of the Russian Federation is organized by the CEC on the basis of legislation. The documents used in the voting are printed centrally and distributed throughout the country, that is, they try to exclude any possibility of falsification. Polling stations are guarded around the clock for the same purpose. Access to ballots is available only to members of the commission. It should be noted that there is no turnout threshold for the elections to the State Duma. They will be considered carried out at any activity of citizens.
Summarizing
In such a huge country, the result of voting by law should be announced within ten days. Therefore, the vote count is divided into stages to facilitate this process. A number of election commissions are being created in the state: precinct, territorial, constituent entities and the CEC. Counting is in that order.
The district police officers deal with ballots, draw up a protocol, send it to the territorial. Those, in turn, make a summary statement, checking the accuracy of the data (correct design). Territorial commissions send their own protocols to the appropriate body of the subject of the Russian Federation. At this stage, the verification of the paperwork, data set is again carried out. Final protocols are sent to the CEC. This body collects all information about the country and summarizes.
