Parliament is the main legislative institution of any modern democratic state. It is here that laws are written and adopted by voting, constitutions are established and amended. In Russia, the State Duma is the lower house of parliament. And in this publication we will talk about the functions and powers of this authority. In addition, we will talk about the features of the formation of its composition and how candidates for the State Duma are elected.
Type of government and parliament
Parliament can influence both the foreign policy of the state and the domestic one, it all depends on the role of the president. Most Western countries are parliamentary republics, that is, it is parliament that decides everything, while the Russian Federation is a mixed republic. The United States, by the way, is precisely the presidential republic. The last word always remains with the president.
So what is the name of the parliament in Russia? Historically, legislatures have different names. This includes the Polish Sejm and the Spanish Cortes, and all this, in fact, is the parliament. Usually it is bicameral, with the lower house adopting and enacting the law, and the upper house either rejecting it or approving it without the right to make changes. This practice has remained since the time of the monarchy, confirming its effectiveness.
What is the State Duma?
And so we came close to the State Duma of the Russian Federation. The State Duma is not a parliament yet, in principle, our parliament is the Federal Assembly. It is bicameral, and the algorithm of the Federal Assembly is described in detail in the 5th chapter of the Constitution. In its turn, the State Duma is precisely the lower, most important and responsible branch of power in our state. It is in the State Duma that all laws are passed that determine the life of ordinary citizens in the state and even the country's budget for the next year.
How does the State Duma vote, how do candidates run in elections and what do they do all the time the parliament is convened? We will try to answer these questions now.
Why does the State Duma exist?
Since the State Duma is actually the main legislative body in the country, it is the legislative activity that is the main task of the deputies of the lower house of the parliament of the Russian Federation. The laws that are submitted for consideration and voting can be completely different: from those relating to some small sectors of the economy and related tax policies to, for example, the reform of education or medicine on a large scale. The main thing is that the new petty law should be within the limits allowed by the Constitution, and not contradict its main provisions. Otherwise, such a law would be illegitimate even if deputies vote for it and it will be adopted by both houses of the Federal Assembly.
Voting in the State Duma
Voting in the State Duma is regulated by Article 10 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation. It is the State Duma of the Russian Federation that determines which draft laws will fall in the upper house of parliament. The bills that are submitted for discussion must go through a special constitutional commission to determine the degree of compliance with the country's main legal act. The procedure is performed using electronic equipment. After passing the bill to a vote, its author can speak out from the rostrum about his opinion about the law, its meaning and usefulness. Opponents can also speak out about the negative sides of the bill, after which, for the set time, all those present must choose “for”, “against”, or “abstained” with respect to this law. The percentage and the result is instantly determined whether the bill goes further to the vote in the upper house of the Federal Assembly or not. The laws of the State Duma form the "legal body" of the country. It is worth noting that voting can be secret or open, but in most cases it is open. When the State Duma passed the law, it goes to vote in the upper house of the Federal Assembly.
Convocation of the State Duma
Each election determines the composition of the State Duma for the next five years, thereby forming the next convocation. Any democratic state limits the working hours of its institutions, since during one convocation the opinion of the people and civil society - the receptacle of the main political will in the country - could change dramatically. Theoretically, deputies are reflections of certain groups of people who have voted for a particular deputy, and he is obliged to protect their rights. For five years, the deputy reflects the will of the people, and if he did it poorly and did not meet the requirements of the voters, they will vote for another candidate. In the debate between the various population groups, which are represented by political parties and deputies, the process of parliamentary discussion, a kind of core of democracy, takes place. Therefore, it is generally accepted that the State Duma is the main organ of parliamentarism in our country.
Last convocation
It's no secret that recently, on September 18, 2016, the next elections to the State Duma were held. Although the election did not bring any new political forces to parliament, they significantly changed the balance of power in the country's supreme legislative body, strengthening the power of the ruling United Russia party.
The turnout in the last election
In general, it is worth noting that the turnout in these elections was quite low, only 50 percent of the population expressed a desire to go and exercise their right to participate in the political life of the state. And although even a more massive turnout would hardly radically change the color of the next convocation, as journalists of pro-Western and opposition media often like to say, this indicates a cooling of Russian interest in politics and, possibly, even disappointment.
Preliminary results
It is worth saying that the results of the elections to the State Duma were already known at the end of the voting day. The preliminary elections to the State Duma, or primaries, are, in fact, the internal party process of determining the number of candidates and their distribution by constituencies, which ended in the summer. Any of the citizens of the Russian Federation who have reached the age of majority could determine which of the candidates will take part in the main elections. Since May of this year, preliminary elections were held in the Communist Party, United Russia, PARNAS, and the Green Alliance. Honestly, this was a more populist step, since the party leadership had previously determined the tactics and strategy of the political struggle, and the results of the elections too contradictory to these tactics simply were canceled some time after the elections. On the other hand, popular opinion forced politicians to significantly adjust their own course, making amendments to popular opinion on the eve of the upcoming large-scale elections to the State Duma.
September 18, 2016 election results
As a result, as a result of the elections, a total of 450 seats in the State Duma were distributed as follows:
- United Russia received a total of 28,527,828 votes, or 54.2 percent, and 343 seats in the State Duma. This is significantly more than the result of United Russia in 2011.
- The Communist Party receives 7,019,752 votes, which is 13.34 percent of the vote and 42 seats in parliament. Compared to previous elections, this result is worse.
- LDPR. The party of Vladimir Volfovich Zhirinovsky received 6,917,063 votes, almost like the Communists Gennady Zyuganov, or 13.14 percent, and 39 seats in the State Duma.
- The last of the political forces that overcame the 5 percent barrier is the Just Russia party. She received a total of 3,275,053 votes, or 6.22 percent, and 22 deputy seats.
The activities of the State Duma of the new convocation
The State Duma of the Federal Assembly, which will be formed by the results of the elections on September 18, 2016, has the name of the State Duma of the seventh convocation. Unlike the previous convocations of the government party "United Russia", which is headed by Dmitry Medvedev, there is no need to join parliamentary coalitions to advance its course, as in previous convocations. Then several parties had to unite in one coalition to pass a bill, support a single course and vote for each other's proposals. In this case, of course, it was impossible to avoid compromises between political forces within the same coalition, so the course itself was greatly simplified. Now, the leadership of United Russia will have a lot easier.