Now, according to the law on elections of deputies, information about each registered candidate included in the ballot for the corresponding single-mandate electoral district is published at the information stand located at the polling station. In this case, if a candidate is nominated by a political party, the name of this political party is indicated, and if the candidate nominated his candidacy independently, the word “self-nomination” is indicated.
The same information is included in the ballot for voting in a single-mandate constituency. In this case, simultaneously with the submission of the federal list of candidates for certification, a political party has the right to submit to the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation its emblem, the description of which is given in its charter.
“The emblem is the calling card of a political party; it is associated with the party’s leadership, its main objectives and the proposed directions for the country’s development,” the authors of the bill note.
Citizens also have the right to stand as candidates in a single-mandate constituency in elections to deputies of the State Duma.
A distinctive feature of such a candidate is that he or she has no partisan obligations defined by the statutes of the political party, which allows him or her to be accountable exclusively to the voters. The absence of partisan commitments also allows the candidate to make his or her own decisions and act in accordance with his or her beliefs.
The bill proposes to amend Articles 78 and 79 of the Federal Law “On Elections of Deputies of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation” by providing for the placement on information stands and on ballot papers for voting in a single-mandate electoral district of a more detailed and precise indication of the method of nominating a candidate by placing the political emblem of the party that nominated the candidate if the emblem was submitted by the political party to the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation. If the candidate nominated his candidacy independently, an indication of the status of a self-nominated candidate shall be placed in the place provided for the placement of the emblem of the political party.
As one of the authors of the bill, the head of the Committee on Labour, Social Policy and Veterans Affairs Yaroslav Nilov, explained to Rossiyskaya Gazeta, the document will be submitted to the State Duma for consideration today. “Its main purpose is to inform voters in more detail about the candidates. The voter must understand which candidate represents which party or whether the candidate is a self-proclaimed candidate. Now the ballot papers say in small print which party nominated this or that candidate. This is neither informative nor convenient for people. And if there is a party emblem next to the candidate’s name, it will be easier for people to find their way and express their voting rights. Party candidates have an additional responsibility to voters and the party,” Yaroslav Nilov explained.
