In the life of any state parliament plays a significant role. Therefore, the elections to the State Duma are of interest both to the citizens of the Russian Federation and to foreign observers. It is necessary that this process be legal, open and 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 arguments, but analyze the order and system of the process in order to understand who distorts the facts and tries to influence public opinion in their favor.
Calling elections
According to the fundamental law of the state, Duma deputies must work for five years. At the end of this period, a new election campaign will be organized. It is approved by decree of the President of the Russian Federation. Elections to the State Duma must be announced within 110 to 90 daysbefore the voting date. 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 deputies themselves. It was decided to postpone the elections to the State Duma of the Russian Federation for a single voting day (September 18). This innovation was formalized by a special law, which was considered by the Constitutional Court. This body decided that a slight deviation from the basic 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 exactly he has to decide. The fact is that the system itself was changing in Russia. Through trial and error, we 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 mark the party that the person trusts, in the second - personally the candidate for deputies 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, campaigning work and more. Any violations are recorded by this body. Legally sound decisions are made on them.
The procedure for elections to the State Duma
The political struggle is full of nuances. Holding elections to the State Duma is no exception. A special order is fixed by law, which cannot be violated. To take part in the party elections you need:
- collect 200 thousand signatures, no 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.
The above items have their subtleties. So, signatures will be seriously checked for authenticity. To hedge, the party has the right to enlist the support of more citizens than necessary. But their number should not exceed the legally fixed 200,000 by 5 percent. In addition, parties previously represented in parliament are exempted from the process of confirming popular support. They do not need to collect signatures. In 2016, this right will be exercised by:
- United Russia;
- LDPR;
- "Fair Russia";
- KPRF.
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, besides agitation, stage of the elections. All citizens of the country who are already 18 years old on that day have the right to vote. In order to acceptparticipation in the plebiscite, it is necessary to appear at a special site. You should have your passport with you. Having received the ballot, you need to go with it to a special booth. Voting is secret, that is, the citizen makes his choice personally, without disclosing it. Any sign (cross, tick) in front of the party or candidate should be put on the ballot. Then it must be sent to a special sealed box.
Elections to the State Duma of the Russian Federation are organized by the CEC on the basis of legislation. The documents used in 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. Only members of the commission have access to the ballots. It should be noted that no turnout threshold has been set for elections to the State Duma. They will be considered carried out with any activity of citizens.
Summing up
In such a huge country, the result of the vote by law must be announced within ten days. Therefore, the counting of votes is divided into stages to facilitate this process. A number of election commissions are being created in the state: precinct, territorial, subjects and the CEC. Counting goes in that order.
The district police officers deal with the ballots, draw up a protocol, send it to the territorial ones. Those, in turn, make a summary sheet, checking the accuracy of the data (correct execution). Territorial commissions send their own protocols to the relevant body of the constituent entity of the Russian Federation. At this stage, the correctness is again checked.paperwork, data collection. The final protocols are sent to the CEC. This body collects all information about the country and sums up.
Distribution of mandates
Since a mixed system is used, the results are summed up according to a double method. In single-member districts, the person with the most votes wins. This candidate receives his mandate directly from the hands of the voters. Parties also need to pass the barrier. In 2016, it is fixed at 5 percent. Those parties that get fewer votes are automatically eliminated from the race. The mandates (225) are divided among the finalists. The counting rules are such that the number of votes and the barrier are taken into account.
It is necessary that at least 60% of citizens at all vote for the parties, that is, in the aggregate, people's preferences in relation to political organizations should be exactly this figure. If the leading forces as a whole gain less, then outsiders have the opportunity to join in the distribution of mandates. The Commission adds the parties that have not passed the barrier until it reaches the total of 60% specified in the legislation. The CEC announces the winning political forces, which divide the mandates in their ranks, taking into account the results of voting in the regions.
