Representative democracy exists thanks to the delegation of powers from the population to deputies, who, in theory, are called upon to protect their interests. Obtaining these powers and the mandate of a deputy, our representatives at the same time acquire special rights, duties and even privileges.
Terminology
Mandate is a borrowed word that came into the Russian language from French, but having a Latin origin. In ancient Rome, the so-called law of the emperor, which granted special rights to the provinces and approved binding legal norms. In modern language, this term has two main semantic loads. First, a mandate is a document certifying certain credentials. For example, after World War I, mandates were issued to manage the colonies. Or a closer example to us - the right to deputy powers. Secondly, this concept is associated with a vacant place that a person should occupy, most often by election. For example, 450 mandates, that is, deputy seats that will be occupied by the election results, are submitted to parliament.
Elections to the State Duma and distribution of seats in it
In Russia there is a bicameral parliament. The members of the lower house - the State Duma - are elected by universal suffrage every four years. For a long time, a mixed
electoral system dominated in our country
, combining elements of the majority and proportional systems. At the moment, only the last one remains, that is, voting takes place on party lists, in proportion to the number of votes received, the distribution of mandates.
There are different calculation technologies, but the Heir method is used in Russia. First, the number of all ballots accepted for voting is divided by the number of seats in the Duma. We get the first quotient. Then math. The number of votes received by a particular party is divided by the quotient. The resulting figure is rounded down, and so the number of representatives of a given party who have received representation in the Duma is calculated. But in the calculations there will certainly be a balance. So, this last place is transferred to the party, which has the largest remainder after the decimal point. If suddenly they are the same, the deputy seat passes to the party, which has a larger integer, that is, more votes.
Types of Mandates
In the Soviet Union there was a so-called imperative mandate. This meant that in his activities, the representative of the people relied on a mandate from voters and had to fulfill it. If he did not live up to expectations, the electorate could withdraw him and deprive him of vested powers.
Now in Russia there is a free mandate that does not bind the deputy with obligations directly to voters. The deputy at meetings with the electorate, of course, accepts the wishes, but they no longer impose any legal responsibility on him.
The powers of the deputy
So, passing to the
State Duma, party representatives receive a deputy mandate that gives them special powers, but also imposes obligations on them. Firstly, the people's deputy should not be engaged in commercial activities, his main income is the salary of the deputy. He must attend parliamentary meetings, participate in the activities of committees and commissions. The parliamentarian has the opportunity to come up with proposals for bills, visit government bodies without hindrance, and make parliamentary inquiries, which will be answered within a month.
For the entire term of office, the parliamentarian has personal inviolability. They cannot arrest him without good reason (for example, he was detained at the crime scene), conduct a personal search, search a car or apartment. These measures are taken to provide protection against possible pressure in the performance of their duties. But it happens that our representatives use it for personal selfish purposes. Another important point is the release from the obligation to testify in connection with the fulfillment of their competencies.
Deprivation of Deputies
The law establishes the reasons why a parliamentarian can lose his mandate. This is, firstly, involvement in entrepreneurial activities, such as own business, participation in the management of a commercial organization. Secondly, a trial conviction of a crime.
Changes to the law on the status of a deputy, which relate to a number of reasons for the termination of deputy activity, are now vividly being discussed. These include undeclared income, bank accounts abroad and the acquisition of property whose price exceeds the income declared by the deputy. This list is proposed to apply to both deputies and officials. An important addition is the declaration of income of the next of kin.