Russia, according to most lawyers, is a presidential republic. The bulk of power is thus concentrated in the hands of the head of state, elected by the people. Actually, by what procedures do Russians choose their President? What are the requirements for candidates for the highest public office?
Russian Presidential Election: Key Aspects
The Constitution of the Russian Federation defines the main mechanism by which the election of the President of the Russian Federation is held - this is a universal direct vote of citizens. It is interesting that the main law of the state does not say anything about the alternative (the presence of several candidates for the post of head of state) elections, but in a number of other legal acts this aspect is disclosed in sufficient detail.
A person can apply for the post of President of the Russian Federation if he is already 35 years old. This is one of the key criteria for candidates. Another important requirement is residence in Russia for at least 10 years at the time of the election. Moreover, as some lawyers note, the laws of the Russian Federation do not explicitly indicate that only the person who was born in Russia can be a candidate for the post of president of the Russian Federation.
How are candidates nominated? A person can become a candidate if he is nominated by a group of other citizens or an electoral association. Self-nomination is also possible. Consider the aspect regarding the requirements for applicants for the highest public office in the Russian Federation, in more detail.
Nomination of candidates: nuances
What are the criteria for the participation of candidates in the election of the head of state? The procedure for the election of the President of the Russian Federation includes the following norms regarding this aspect. Candidates for the post of head of the Russian state, as we noted above, can participate in elections both through self-nomination and through the mediation of public associations - these are most often the parties.
In the first case, a citizen who seeks to take over the power of the president of the Russian Federation, although he himself is nominated, nevertheless must gain the support of at least 500 of his compatriots. In this case, the applicant for the post of head of state is obliged to register his "support group" in the CEC in the appropriate manner. In the second case - when the party nominates the candidate - this public association must have official registration in state registers. Its validity is at least a year before the presidential election. Interestingly, provided that the candidate is nominated by the party, he himself should not be a member. The public affiliation represented in Parliament can support only one candidate for election as head of state.
In both scenarios - self-nomination or support by the party - the candidate for the position of President is required to provide at least 1 million signatures of citizens to the CEC. They are supposed to endorse the relevant candidacy. Moreover, the maximum number of signatures in each of the constituent entities of the federation should not exceed 70 thousand. A candidate can circumvent this requirement if he secures the support of a party that has valid mandates in the State Duma.
Preparation and conduct of elections
Elections of the head of the Russian state are appointed by the upper house of the Federal Assembly. The relevant authority should make a corresponding decision no later than 3 months before the proposed day for the election of the President. If it so happens that 35 days before the appointed day of the election there will not be 2 candidates on the electoral list, then the elections will be postponed for another 60 days.
As a rule, a few months before the expected date of voting for the head of state in Russia, an election campaign begins. Candidates seeking to gain the trust of citizens engage in political advertising, organize debates, and conduct activities that can shape their positive image in the eyes of voters.
The presidential elections are held on the first Sunday of the month in which the citizens of our country went to polling stations the previous time. The law provides for the option that the Federation Council for some reason does not appoint them within the required time frame. In this case, the procedure for electing the President of the Russian Federation is such that the initiative passes into the hands of the CEC. This body appoints and holds elections in such a scenario on the second Sunday of the same month in which the Federation Council normally had to appoint an event.
Elections
If the candidate for the post of head of state received more than 50% of the vote, then he immediately becomes the elected President. If a simple majority - a second round is appointed. Upon the fact of its holding, the President becomes the person who gains at least 1 vote more than his opponent.
Terms of office
The term for the election of the President of the Russian Federation established by law is 6 years. At the same time, his powers cease to be fulfilled as soon as the new head of state takes office. The law provides for scenarios in which the President may resign. In this case, the Federation Council is obliged to call early elections of the head of state. The deadline for senators to meet is 14 days from the date the President terminates his authority. In this case, the voting day is the last Sunday before the day when the 90-day period from the moment the head of state resigns expires.
When the election failed
The procedure for the election of the President of the Russian Federation allows for the recognition of the election of the head of state as invalid. When it's possible? The first scenario: the second round passed, but the only person was a candidate in it, and less than 50% of the citizens chose him. Also, elections can be declared invalid if none of the candidates won more than half of the votes in the first round. Another option - by the time of the election, all candidates left the presidential race. Also, the considered electoral procedure will be declared invalid if the turnout is less than 50% of registered voters. Consider the features of the organization of the second round itself.
Second round of elections
The procedure for the election of the President of the Russian Federation provides that the second round of elections for the head of state is held 21 days after the first. Moreover, if one of the candidates who went to the next stage decides to stop participating in the elections, then his place is taken by the person who showed the third result in the first round. At the same time, a scenario is possible when citizens of the Russian Federation will choose the President at the second stage with the participation of one candidate. True, at the same time, according to the results of the second round, he should gain at least 50% of the vote. It should be noted that in the framework of this stage of the electoral event under consideration there are no requirements for turnout.
When the election is invalid
The procedure for the election of the President of the Russian Federation includes scenarios when the elections are declared invalid. This is possible, for example, if the results of the vote look insufficiently reliable due to violations. Another option is if in a significant number of polling stations (which constitute one quarter or more of the total number of voters), the election results are invalidated for one reason or another. Another scenario - the election is annulled by the court.
If the election of the head of state is qualified as invalid or invalid, as well as if in the second round both candidates stopped participating in the contest for the post of President, the upper house of the Parliament of the Russian Federation carries out the procedure for re-election of the head of state. This should happen within the next four months from the day when the decision was made to declare the previous election invalid.
How many times can one become President?
As we noted above, the term for the election of the President of the Russian Federation is 6 years. At the same time, the same person cannot hold the position for more than two corresponding periods in a row. At the same time, the power of the President of the Russian Federation can again return to the hands of a citizen after his successor has worked out the due date for this position.
President taking office
30 days after the election of the head of the Russian state and the winner is determined, the procedure for the entry of the elected President of the Russian Federation is carried out. This event, as a rule, is broadcast live on state and other TV, radio channels. Representatives of authorities, parties, public organizations of Russia and other countries may be present in the gala hall where the President takes office.
During the event, which is attended by senators of the upper house of Parliament, State Duma deputies, as well as judges of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, the new head of state takes the oath. After that, he can exercise his official powers until his successor takes his place or until the people re-elect him, if there is an appropriate legislative opportunity.
Theses of the oath
The oath is not taken by a person who holds the position of acting head of state if the previous one has terminated his powers. At the same time, it is brought by the re-elected President of the Russian Federation - in the same way as he did the previous time. The oath is taken by the head of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation.
The procedure in question is provided in many other countries of the world. At the same time, in some states, as some lawyers note, the President assumes office only after taking the oath. Similar formulations, in particular, are present in the Constitutions of the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Many experts believe that a similar norm is present in Russia, based on some formulations in the basic law of our country. Thus, lawyers believe that the elected President of the Russian Federation cannot formally, through legally correct procedures, take office without taking the oath. Although there is no direct indication of a similar nature in the laws of the Russian Federation.
Rights and obligations of the head of state
What are the basic rights of the President of the Russian Federation upon taking office? Lawyers include the following:
- the appointment of the Prime Minister (or Prime Minister);
- management of government meetings;
- The appointment of a general referendum;
- resignation of the Government.
Along with rights, the head of the Russian state has responsibilities. Among the key ones are maintaining the country's foreign policy, submitting bills to the Parliament, signing the past procedures for the adoption of legal acts, publishing its own sources - decrees, orders. Note that some lawyers do not distinguish between the rights of the President of the Russian Federation and his duties, believing that it is rather difficult to determine the necessary criteria in this case. For example, the same publication of decrees, experts say, may well be attributed to rights.
Election financing
What is the procedure for electing the President of the Russian Federation in financial terms? The bulk of the activities related to the preparation and practical conduct of the election of the head of the Russian state is paid for from the federal budget of the Russian Federation. At the same time, each of the candidates is obliged to create their own funds for additional financing of electoral events.
Applicants for the presidency should spend money within the framework of the relevant institutions, observing the reporting regulated by the laws of the country.
Counting and publishing results
Studying the procedure for electing the President of the Russian Federation, we briefly consider such an aspect as the counting of votes, as well as the publication of the results of an electoral event. After the polls close - at 20 o'clock local time, the summing up of the election results, respectively, begins. Territorial commissions study bulletins, summarize statistics, generate protocols and send data to the CEC. Then the results are summarized in a common document. A significant amount of tasks in this direction is solved using a high-tech resource - the state automated system for counting votes and statistical analysis of relevant data.
The official publication of the results of the studied electoral event, as well as the figures for the votes cast for each applicant, must be carried out within 3 days after the final protocol of the CEC is drawn up. Data for each of the territorial polling stations must be printed in the official publications of the CEC within 10 days. As a rule, even before the election results are made public, sociologists report the results of exit-polls - polls of voters at the exit from territorial precincts, allowing citizens to get an approximate idea of the results of the vote.
The first tasks after the election
Having studied how the President of the Russian Federation assumes office, the election procedure, the powers of the person chosen by the people, we can consider what the first steps of the head of state prescribed by law in terms of solving political management tasks are. The fact is that the President’s assumption of office is accompanied by some legal consequences related to the structure of power institutions. In particular, members of the Government are dismissed - such are the requirements in the law governing the activities of the highest executive body. Also, as some experts note, as a rule, the personnel structure in the Presidential Administration is changing, and in some cases plenipotentiary representatives of the head of state in the upper chamber of the Parliament and in federal districts are de-jure.
However, in fact, the employees of the respective apparatuses continue to perform their labor functions until other officials and heads of departments are appointed or the current employees legally retain their posts. Thus, the first post- election appointments of the President of the Russian Federation relate to positions in the Government. Sometimes - the administration of the head of state and a number of other structures of political governance. Does the Office of the President of the Russian Federation change its structure? There is no consensus among experts on this matter, and in the laws of Russia there are no norms that would strictly regulate the principles of staff rotation in this body. Thus, the Office of the President of the Russian Federation is a body that operates independently of the procedures reflecting the election of the head of state.
Martial law elections
Having considered the rights and obligations of the President of the Russian Federation, the election and the powers of the head of the Russian state, we will also study such an aspect as conducting the corresponding electoral procedure in a state of martial law. Indeed, if a country is for some reason drawn into some kind of international conflict, the population is probably not up to the elections and presidential races.
Note that in the main law of the country - the Constitution - nothing is said about such cases. While in the Federal Law "On Martial Law" it is noted that any elections to government bodies, as well as referenda, are not held in appropriate conditions. That is, the President will remain in office until martial law is abolished. The term of office of the head of state will thereby be extended, even if he has already worked for 6 years. The same rule, as noted by lawyers, applies to other authorities. By the way, in many other countries, the legislative regime provides for similar norms.
Does Russia have a vice president?
No, such a position is not provided for in our country. However, there were periods when she was present in the power system. For example, at a time when the institution of the presidency only appeared - first in the USSR, and then in the first years after the formation of the Russian Federation. But in the Constitution, which was adopted in 1993, there was no information about the position of vice president. As well as in none of the subsequent amendments to the basic law of the country. Lawyers note that the vice president is present in the power system of a relatively small number of states. First of all, it is possible to note the development of the corresponding tradition in the USA, in some European countries, for example, in Bulgaria or Cyprus.