The analysis of some electoral laws: democracy infringement or a guarantee for constitutional order stability?


Cite item

Full Text

Abstract

The purpose of the paper is to analyze the competition of principles of electoral process democratic nature, on the one hand, and the principles of constitutional order stability, on the other hand. The authors consider several significant changes in Federal law “On basic protections of electoral rights and the right to participate in a referendum of citizens of the Russian Federation” of the 12th of July, 2002 No. 67-FZ, including the latest changes dated the 14th of March, 2022. Nearly before each election of federal importance, the amendments are being made to federal law No. 67; therefore, electoral law becomes an elastic policy instrument. About three hundred amendments have been introduced for two decades of this federal law action. The paper analyzes several most significant changes in the RF electoral legislation for the last decade, which most notably influenced the current appearance of the direct democracy in Russia: the election pledge abolition, mass reduction of the institution of direct election of heads of local self-government, the abolition of the institution of non-voting members of the electoral commissions (in electoral commissions of under-regional level), the reduction of powers of non-voting members of the electoral commissions in the RF Central Election Commission and election commissions of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation; the introduction of electronic voting in the election of all levels and types throughout the Russian Federation. The paper considers the consequences of these electoral laws for the principles of democracy and competing principles of constitutional order stability. The authors conclude on the priority of the principles of the constitutional order stability over the principles of democracy of the electoral process, although this priority has certain specific historical reasons, as well as the limits.

About the authors

Natalya Alekseevna Bobrova

Togliatti State University, Togliatti

Author for correspondence.
Email: bobrovana@mail.ru

Doctor of Sciences (Law), Professor, professor of Chair “Constitutional and Administrative Law”, Honored Lawyer of the Russian Federation

Russian Federation

Valentin Viktorovich Soshnikov

Samara Regional Duma, Samara

Email: soshnikoff.valentin@yandex.ru

Faction Secretariat Counselor

Russian Federation

References

  1. Bykova A.G. On the question of filling the position of the head of municipality. Vestnik Omskoy yuridicheskoy akademii, 2016, no. 2, pp. 17–23.
  2. Byalkina T.M. On some aspects of Russian city self-government in light of the new municipal reform. Konstitutsionnoe i munitsipalnoe pravo, 2015, no. 1, pp. 62–66.
  3. Kim Yu.V. Systemic effects of non-systemic decisions: on tendencies of development of the system of local self-government in modern Russia. Konstitutsionnoe i munitsipalnoe pravo, 2015, no. 5, pp. 67–73.
  4. Kostyukov A.N. Disappearing rule of the people. Konstitutsionnoe i munitsipalnoe pravo, 2017, no. 8, pp. 61–64.
  5. Chikhladze L.T. New trends in the formation of local self-government bodies in the Russian Federation. Yuridicheskaya nauka, 2017, no. 1, pp. 42–51.
  6. Shugrina E.S. New stage of municipal reform or counter-reforming of counter-reforms? Konstitutsionnoe i munitsipalnoe pravo, 2015, no. 4, pp. 68–71.
  7. Bobrova N.A., Ivanov A.A. Government responsibility for the local self-government reform (on the example of the Samara region). Munitsipalnaya sluzhba: pravovye voprosy, 2020, no. 4, pp. 21–25.
  8. Avakyan S.A. Separation of powers: for which levels to apply? Vestnik Saratovskoy gosudarstvennoy yuridicheskoy akademii, 2018, no. 4, pp. 15–26.
  9. Lukyanov A.I. Parlamentarizm v Rossii (voprosy teorii, istorii i praktiki) [Parliamentarism in Russia (questions of theory, history and practice)]. Moscow, Norma Publ., 2010. 304 p.
  10. Kolyushin E.I. Aktualnye problemy izbiratelnogo prava Rossii [Actual problems of electoral law in Russia]. Moscow, Prospekt Publ., 2019. 224 p.
  11. Berlyavskiy L.G. Sources and basic institutions of electoral law. Chapter 31. Formirovanie i razvitie otrasley prava v istoricheskoy i sovremennoy pravovoy realnosti Rossii. V 12 t. T. VI. Konstitutsionnoe pravo Rossii. Moscow, Yurlitinform Publ., 2021, pp. 435–459.
  12. Starostina I.A. The constitutional trend of renewal of government based on elections in modern Russia. Konstitutsionnoe i munitsipalnoe pravo, 2019, no. 11, pp. 51–56.
  13. Eremyan V.V. Whether the comparativist has the reason for optimism? (Russian сonstitution as “a mirror” of the state construction). Vestnik Saratovskoy gosudarstvennoy yuridicheskoy akademii, 2018, no. 2, pp. 15–26.
  14. Bobrova N.A. Obshcheteoreticheskiy i mezhotraslevoy aspekty yuridicheskoy otvetstvennosti [The theoretical and inter-industry aspects of legal responsibility]. Moscow, Yurlitinform Publ., 2019. 544 p.
  15. Kurdyuk P.M., Ochakovskiy V.A., Likholatov G.S. On the issue of electing the head of a municipal formation in a “competitive” way. Obshchestvo i pravo, 2018, no. 2, pp. 133–136.
  16. Vlasova M.A. The impact of constitutional reforms on legal science. Yuridicheskaya nauka: istoriya i sovremennost, 2021, no. 3, pp. 58–64.
  17. Amiantov A.A. Prospects for the democratization of the local self-government system in the event of refusal from indirect elections of municipal heads (based on materials from the Khanty-Mansi autonomous area). Obrazovanie i pravo, 2021, no. 1, pp. 19–23.
  18. Mikhaylova M.V., Pibaev I.A. Reflections on the results of the application of the “competitive” procedure for electing the heads of municipalities in the Kirov region. Administrativnoe i munitsipalnoe pravo, 2018, no. 2, pp. 33–44.
  19. Maykova E.Yu., Simonova E.V. Competitive model of election of the head of local self-government in the modern Russian municipal practice: advantages and shortcomings. Vlast, 2017, vol. 25, no. 8, pp. 83–89.
  20. Korsun K.I. Election of heads of municipalities on a competitive basis: restriction of people's power or improvement of the institution of municipal representation? Vestnik Kazanskogo yuridicheskogo instituta MVD Rossii, 2021, vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 22–27.
  21. Konysheva E.G. “Competitive” head of municipality: analysis and prospects of implementation. Pravo i politika, 2020, no. 11, pp. 1–9.
  22. Bobrova N.A. Reasons for legalization of election legal offences in judicial decisions. Konstitutsionnoe i munitsipalnoe pravo, 2015, no. 5, pp. 62–66.
  23. Mukhametov R.S., Pozdnyakova Yu.A. Models of transition to the competitive system of mayor election: experience of municipalities of the Sverdlovsk region. Munitsipalitet: ekonomika i upravlenie, 2019, no. 3, pp. 41–48.
  24. Bobrova N.A. Constitutional law as a tool for controlling future, or results of elections 2016. Konstitutsionnoe i munitsipalnoe pravo, 2017, no. 1, pp. 45–48.

Supplementary files

Supplementary Files
Action
1. JATS XML
Download

Copyright (c)



This website uses cookies

You consent to our cookies if you continue to use our website.

About Cookies