The legislation of the Russian Federation provides for the right of citizens to be elected and to elect (Article 32 of the Constitution). Self-nominated candidates, directly voters and electoral blocs (associations) have the right to use this right. Also, legislation at the appropriate levels determines the procedure for the nomination, registration of candidates and the status of nominees. In some subjects, this order is different, so it is necessary to consider its general elements.
The essence of the nomination and registration of candidates
The rules governing the exercise of the right of citizens to be elected and elected are contained in several acts. The procedure for nominating and registering candidates is regulated by federal law No. 67-FZ of June 12, 2002. This law defines the basic guarantees of the rights of voters and the rights of persons participating in a referendum. The indicated principles for holding elections in Russia are enshrined in article 3.
Nomination and registration of candidates, as well as their subsequent election, is carried out by the will of all participants in this process by secret ballot.
Implementing the provisions of the law that give each citizen the right to a certain degree to take part in the political life of society, citizens are united in political groups at three levels:
Briefly, the nomination and registration of candidates can be defined as one of the most important stages in the election process. Its purpose is to determine the future personal composition of the body, which will represent the interests of citizens at one of the levels of government.
The created associations of a political type form electoral blocs, which are also considered electoral associations. In the future, a congress or conference of representatives of associations of public groups is held, at which the nomination of citizens from among these representatives of associations is held.
A public association, which is a member of an electoral bloc, has the right to be in only one electoral bloc. It does not have the right to stand for election as an independent electoral association.
Stages of the stage of nomination and registration of candidates
This stage has three independent stages:
- Identification of candidates to be nominated (promotional initiative).
- Supporting a promotional initiative (collecting signatures or making an electoral deposit).
- Registration of nominated citizens.
Nomination and registration of candidate lists begins with the occurrence of one of two events:
- From the day when the circuits of the constituencies were officially published, if the territory of the election is divided by constituencies. By this principle, the electoral system of the majority type is considered.
- From the day when the decision was officially published to call the election, if the territory is considered a single constituency of the electoral type. According to this principle, an electoral system of a proportional type (the choice of deputies or officials) is considered.
The procedure for the nomination and registration of candidates determines the term, which on the basis of laws of the federal level or the level of the subject is considered the period of nomination of elected citizens.
What are these time intervals equal to? The nomination periods for collecting signatures and registering candidates are as follows:
- From 45 days, when it comes to elections to a public authority at the federal level or other state federal bodies.
- From thirty days, when it comes to elections to a public authority at the level of constituent entities of the Russian Federation.
- From twenty days, when it comes to elections to the local government, as well as the election of the head of the municipality or other municipal officials.
Nomination requirements
The conditions for nominating candidates for registration are necessary prerequisites that enable nominees to exercise their rights to be elected.
Nomination conditions have two sides: procedural and material.
The material condition for the nomination for registration of candidates in elections is the availability of an elective passive right of the nominated candidate (the right to be elected to a specific state authority, local government or to the place of an official).
The procedural condition for the nomination is the submission by the nominated person of a written notice of consent to be nominated by the candidate.
The application for registration contains the following information:
- personal biographical data;
- place of service or work;
- identity document details;
- data on the presence (absence) of a criminal record;
- citizenship (if any - second);
- obligation to terminate activities incompatible with deputy or other electoral activities.
In addition to the application, information on the sources and amounts of income (copies of the tax return for the year preceding the nomination), on the property belonging to the nominee, on bank deposits and securities (securities) is submitted to the election commission.
Failure to provide even one of the types of information entails a refusal to accept the application and register candidates for nomination for a certain position.
Self-nomination
The subjects of nomination for the registration of candidates for the presidency of the Russian Federation and for other positions are voters, associations of voters and electoral blocs. Therefore, one of the ways to nominate the subjects of suffrage is self-nomination.
The self-nominating candidate is notified to the commission that registers nominees - candidates for deputies and other elected posts. After the commission is notified, the candidate can collect signatures in his support, and the committee will oversee future elections. If the collection of signatures was carried out before the commission was notified, they will be canceled.
The content and scope of the notification for each type of elected citizen is determined by its law at the federal level or at the level of entities. There is a general prerequisite: attachment to the application of written consent to run for office in a particular constituency.
Nomination of candidates or lists of candidates by associations and blocs
Nomination and registration of candidates from the candidate list is carried out strictly from citizens included in the electoral association of a particular electoral bloc. The nomination of citizens is carried out by secret ballot.
Candidates selected from associations and their parties collect signatures from voters to support the candidate or several. The procedure for collecting and determining the number of signatures depends on the level at which the nomination takes place and what position the nominated candidate will occupy.
To register one or more candidates, it is necessary to collect two percent (or less) of the total number of voters who were registered in the territory of specific constituencies.
The legislation provides that the required number of citizens who sign up for a candidate or several candidates should not exceed two percent of the total number of voters in the territory.
Features of the nomination of subjects depend on the type of elections and status (territorial). For these reasons, elections have the following features:
- The bodies of state federal power are held at election congresses of associations of the federal level.
- Elections to state-type authorities at the level of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation are held at election congresses of associations of the federal level or at meetings (conferences) of regional or interregional election branches operating in the respective constituent entity.
- Elections to local government bodies are held at meetings (conferences) of regional, interregional or local sectors of associations operating in the respective subject or in the municipality.
If candidates proposed by political parties, including nominees, are nominated from the electoral bloc, they shall be preliminarily approved by the congress of the respective parties.
In addition, these political parties may approve other citizens as representatives of the authorities in single-member constituencies.
As a result of congresses and conferences, each electoral bloc (or association) submits its list of nominated candidates.
Submission of candidate lists
The list of citizens nominated by the association is a single, duly certified document that contains personal data on nominees (education and place of residence, as well as some other data).
The following documents are attached to the finished list:
- consent to the nomination of all citizens included in the list;
- copy of the officially registered charter of the association;
- protocol of the congress at which nominated citizens are listed.
After the list has been submitted and adopted by the election commission, nominees and their representatives can begin to collect signatures in support of the nominated citizens.
According to the guarantee of stability provided for by federal law No. 67-FZ, if the electoral bloc (or association) has submitted a list of citizens, they are not entitled to amend it. The implementation of this principle ensures that voters will be able to vote in the elections for the same citizens for whom they subscribe.
Candidate Support Forms
Support for the initiative for the nomination of citizens is expressed in two forms:
- Signature collection.
- Making a security deposit.
The signature collection form is used during elections at any level. Unlike her, the election pledge is made only if it is provided for by the legislation of the appropriate level.
The number of signatures collected is determined by relevant legislation. For example, the nomination and registration of candidates in Belarus, as well as in the Russian Federation, for the presidency is carried out when collecting one hundred thousand signatures.
The legislation also established quotas for the number of signatures in one territory. The average quota is not more than 7,500 people.
When consenting to the nomination of a candidate, the voter puts on a special form signature, last name, first name and patronymic, date of birth, address, passport details and date. If a candidate is nominated by several initiators, each of them collects the required number of signatures. At the same time, it is prohibited to summarize the signatures collected by the initiators.
An election pledge is allowed as an alternative to the collection of signatures, if permitted by federal law or the laws of the subject. The size of the electoral deposit must be no more than fifteen percent of the maximum amount of expenses of the election fund of the nominated candidate or his election organization.
If, after the pledge has been paid, the candidate has not been elected or the number of electoral votes established by law has not been won, his electoral pledge is taken into account in the budget of the region from which he was nominated.
Registration of candidates (lists of candidates)
The final stage of the nomination process is registration. If candidates have collected the appropriate number of signatures, they are registered as official candidates for government representatives at the appropriate level.
If, instead of signatures, they have made a deposit, then they provide a payment order in confirmation. Candidates are also not prohibited from providing the collected signatures along with the election pledge. If there are not enough signatures, the candidates re-submit the documents based on the introduction of the electoral deposit.
Having accepted documents from citizens, the election commission checks their compliance with the requirements of the law. If unverified signatures are found as a result of the verification, the election commission decides to refuse registration to candidates. Signatures are verified publicly and openly, and their results are announced to representatives of citizens.
Registration Act Requirements
The certificate of registration of the relevant applicants is drawn up in compliance with the following requirements:
- the election commission shall indicate in the decision on registration the fact of the nomination of a candidate by a specific bloc or association;
- if the candidate is simultaneously registered in the list for an elected post and in the list of a single-mandate constituency, the commission shall mention in the decision on the registration of the fact of his nomination in both lists;
- if the candidate participates in the elections by the electoral majority system, the commission registers him exclusively in one of the districts.
Registration denial
The commission has the right to refuse to register a citizen in one of the following cases:
- Lack of passive suffrage among citizens.
- Failure to comply with legislative requirements for nomination by candidates from political parties.
- Lack of necessary documents in the list of registration.
- Repeated or one-time gross violation of the rules for collecting signatures.
- Inaccurate signatures or insufficient number of valid signatures.
- Inaccuracy of data in the application provided by the candidate.
- The absence of an electoral bloc or association of an election fund.
- Exceeding the limit of spending the funds of the election fund.
- Establishment of a violation of citizens' behavior in the anti-campaign period.
- Use by representatives of the association of official or official position for personal purposes.
- Violation of the ban on registration in several constituencies.
If the election commission refused to register the candidate, she will issue a copy of the decision on the refusal, in which his reason is indicated.
Despite the fact that Russian legislation defines all the stages of nomination and verification of candidates, in the process of collecting signatures, there are often many unpromising or little-known personalities as candidates, as well as many violations in the field of electoral law.