Election update II. Legislative changes make it easier for "United Russia" to win elections

It has become a tradition in Russia to change the electoral legislation every year. No significant elections in recent decades have been held under the same rules as the previous ones.

The “Golos” Movement in Defence of Voter’s Rights has published a report on legislative changes at the federal, regional and local levels in 2022 and 2023. The main conclusion of the report: legislative innovations make it even easier for pro-state candidates to win.

And that’s why:

1. It has become more difficult for observers to monitor the integrity of elections:

• All “foreign agents” are prohibited from being members of electoral commissions;
• The “non-voting member of the electoral commission” status has been eliminated (this was the most convenient way to control the situation at the polling stations);
• Candidate’s proxies are not allowed to be present at the polling stations on election days;
• Freelance journalists are not allowed to the polling stations on the election day;
• Observers and journalists are not allowed to move freely around polling stations.

2. Candidates and parties were restricted from campaigning in “banned” social media. This restricts the ability of independent candidates to communicate with their voters e.g. on Facebook and Instagram.

3. At the regional level, additional advantages are given to the pro-state candidates. Thus, the share of majoritarian mandates in regional parliaments has been increased and the share of “party” mandates has been reduced. This makes it easier for pro-governmental candidates to be elected into the parliament, because they by definition use administrative resources (forced “bringing” of voters employed in the public sector to the polling stations as well as other measures of administrative coercion during the campaigning period and on the election day).

4. The country continues to impose severe restrictions on freedom of assembly, freedom of expression and freedom to form political associations, comparable to those imposed under martial law or COVID pandemics. Protest actions are impossible to organize and strictly suppressed, while pro-government events can be organized.

According to the experts of “Golos”, the electoral legislation changes of 2022 and 2023 shall be considered as lack of confidence in Kremlin that it can get the desired election results. In order to feel comfortable, the authorities are forced to further limit the real participation of Russian citizens in political decision-making, even at the local and regional levels.

The experts are convinced that all this leads to people's disillusionment with legal politics. Its consequences became evident during the rebellion of Yevgeny Prigozhin in June, when residents of Rostov-on-Don cheered on the Wagner mercenary fighters on the streets.

More detailed information is available on the “Golos” movement website.