Russian governors may get to fire mayors
In the aftermath of United Russia’s losses in two mayoral Elections, the Russian State Duma this week will consider a bill giving governors extra powers to dismiss mayors, who are still directly elected by constituents.
While United Russia, led by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, has a constitutional majority in the Duma, the party is far from infallible at the local level. Over the weekend, independent mayoral candidates topped United Russia opponents in the mayoral races in Murmansk and Smolensk, Moscow Times reports.
The bill, submitted by President Dmitry Medvedev, would further tighten federal control over the regions. Under the bill, a governor could propose that a mayor in his region be dismissed for failure to fulfill his duties. Grounds for dismissal include serious budget deficits or misuse of budget funds. The proposal would then need to be passed by two-thirds of the city legislature to sack the mayor. United Russia dominates the local legislatures in most cities and towns across the country.
Currently, only a court can order a mayor’s removal.
The bill, to be considered March 20 in the Duma, would make it harder for independent candidates to hold onto mayoral posts and would strengthen United Russia’s control over local politics. Medvedev says the bill would allow deputies to “create a normal, effective vertical of power”.
Recently, Medvedev has referred to the need to remove “criminal elements” from positions of power in the provinces, Nezavisimaya Gazeta reports:
- There are cases where representatives of the criminal revolution of the 1990s have become deputies. We have to see to that such people do not get dominating positions in the municipalities, particularly in times of a crisis, Medvedev said Sunday in an interview with Channel One television.
The Kremlin scrapped gubernatorial elections in 2005, replacing it with a system in which governors are essentially appointed by the president. In many Russian towns mayors enjoy popular support while governors are not very popular and in some cases are not even known in their regions.
Murmansk Oblast Governor Yury Yevdokimov was elected to the post in 1996. He was reelected with a large overall majority both in 2000 and 2004. In 2007 he was commissioned by the regional Duma.
