NEW RESTRICTIVE RUSSIAN ELECTORAL LEGISLATION

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 MOSCOW 007666

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/11/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR RS
SUBJECT: NEW RESTRICTIVE RUSSIAN ELECTORAL LEGISLATION

REF: A. 2004 MOSCOW 9554


B. 2005 MOSCOW 6811

Classified By: DCM Daniel A. Russell. Reasons 1.4b and d.


1. (C) SUMMARY. A flurry of new, more restrictive legal
measures affecting the conduct of elections appeared during
the last few weeks of the spring sessions of both houses of
the Russian parliament. On July 12, President Putin signed
amendments passed by both houses that end the option of
voting "against all candidates" on ballots and prohibit
politicians from changing factions after they have been
elected. Both legislative chambers also passed a
controversial bill, which was sent to Putin for signature on
July 14, that would amend the law on countering extremism to
expand the definition of extremism, a move which many
observers believe could be selectively used to target
politicians and parties and to stifle dissent. The Duma also
considered other amendments to the voting rights law, which
would reinstate early voting before election day and widen
the criteria for removing parties and candidates from races
on extremist grounds and for denying registration to
candidates and parties based on incomplete documentation.
These latter amendments will be taken up again when the Duma
reconvenes for its autumn session on September 3. Most
observers believe that the United Russia party is behind all
of these measures, as it seeks to bolster its position in the
run-up to 2007/2008 elections. Despite their hurried
passage, these amendments have been sharply by both
pro-Kremlin and opposition figures. The most prominent
critic of all of these measures has been Central Elections
Commission Chair Aleksandr Veshnyakov, who told A/S Fried
that the extremism bill goes too far and the early
voting/ending "against all" amendments were bad for Russian
democracy. END SUMMARY.
.
--------------
EXTREMISM AMENDMENTS
--------------


2. (SBU) New amendments to the law "On Countering Extremism"
have been passed by both houses and forwarded on July 14 for
signature to President Putin. The definition of extremism in
Article 1 of the existing law would be changed to include
"preventing government bodies or state agencies from
performing their legitimate functions," "direct calls for
extremist activities," "public statements that encourage or
allow for extremist activities," and "defamatory statements
against federal or regional officials, combined with
allegations of major crimes." The list of actions that might
be considered extremist has been enlarged to include all
statements and reports concerning state officials,
propagation of supremacy or inferiority of ethnic or
religious groups, and production of audio or visual materials
containing elements of an extremist nature. The word
"extremist" will be applicable not only to the person who
made such remarks, but also to the distributor of print,
audiovisual, or other materials, such as Internet web sites.
Actions such as occupation of government offices would be
regarded not as disturbances of the peace but as extremism
punishable under Article 280 of the Criminal Code with a
prison term of up to three years. Under Article 15 of the
existing law, parties can avoid legal action if they renounce
members accused of offenses, but this provision would be
removed under the new amendments.


3. (SBU) The new extremism amendments enjoyed broad support
among United Russia and other pro-government forces.
Twenty-seven members of the Public Chamber called for similar
legislation barring "extremists" from elections shortly
before the amendments were introduced in the Duma. Also, the
heads of 13 Russian regions (11 of which are members of the
United Russia executive committee) issued a letter in support
of the amendments during the week of June 18, just days
before the Duma was to vote on them. Many civil society
activists and opposition members, however, have expressed
serious misgivings that these provisions will be interpreted
loosely and be used against them to stifle even legitimate
dissent.
.
-------------- --------------
AMENDMENTS TO LAW ON BASIC GUARANTEES OF VOTING RIGHTS
-------------- --------------


4. (SBU) Duma deputies from United Russia, the Liberal
Democratic Party (LDPR),and Rodina faction leader Aleksandr
Babakov, proposed substantial changes to Russia's fundamental
electoral law "On Basic Guarantees of Voting Rights." The
bill had its first reading on July 8 and will be considered
further during the Duma's autumn session, which begins on
September 3. One amendment widens criteria for removing
political parties or individuals from electoral races and

MOSCOW 00007666 002 OF 003


works in tandem with the newly broadened definition of
"extremism." According to the draft bill, if a politician
conducts "extremist activities" before or during an election
campaign, and this activity is confirmed by a court, the
offending politician's party could be denied registration for
its whole list of candidates or denied a seat in parliament.
Political parties would be allowed two violations followed by
a ban. These penalties could be applied at any time during
the legislative term.


5. (SBU) Another amendment brings back early voting - a
procedure that Russia had already tried and abandoned, and
which critics fear could allow easy manipulation of election
results. The amendment states that if a voter has a valid
reason (vacation, business trip, illness) that prevents him
from voting on election day, he can vote up to five days
early. Another provision in the bill increases from 25 to 35
the number of reasons for denying registration to a candidate
or party. Omitting any of the items in required
administrative and financial documents and reports could
result in denial of registration. The same penalty would
apply to candidates or parties who provide "incomplete" or
"improperly presented" documents, although the two concepts
are not clearly defined in the bill.
.
--------------
"AGAINST ALL" AMENDMENT
--------------


6. (SBU) An amendment abolishing the &against all
candidates8 option was passed by both houses and signed into
law by Putin on July 12. In recent elections, opposition
parties had encouraged voters to register their protest by
checking "against all." In the 2003 Duma election, "against
all" came in fifth place, with 4.7 percent of the vote, on a
ballot of 23 parties and blocs. In the 2004 presidential
election, "against all" again took fifth place, with 3.45
percent of the vote, on a ballot of six candidates.


7. (SBU) Stoking fears that "against all" voting could
disrupt upcoming elections at the federal level, a recent
Levada Center poll reported that 18 percent of respondents
would vote the protest option were the presidential election
held today. Critics of the measure have pointed out that
voter turnout probably will suffQ with removal of the
option. Some observers believe that United Russia, however,
could benefit from a lower turnout, assuming would-be protest
voters simply decided to stay home.


8. (SBU) Discussion of the "against all" option has been
lively and public. At a meeting of the November 4 Political
Discussion Club on June 28, Chairman of the Federation
Council Sergey Mironov spoke out against elimination of the
"against all" option, saying that it would not help anyone
and it was a serious strategic error on United Russia's part.
Vladimir Pligin, chairman of the Duma Committee on
Constitutional Law and State-Building, simply said it was
"justified." Valeriy Fadeyev, chief editor of Ekspert
magazine and Public Chamber member said the "against all"
option was a political anachronism that encouraged apathy and
irresponsibility. However, Igor Zadorin from the ZIRCON
think tank said that "the extent of voting against all
candidates has served to alert authorities to danger signs,"
and "it offered a venting opportunity for the protest vote."
.
--------------
CHANGING FACTIONS PROHIBITED
--------------


9. (SBU) On July 12, Putin signed into law amendments
prohibiting (under threat of losing seats) deputies in the
Duma and regional parliaments from including members of one
party on the electoral list of another party before
elections. The measure also would ban politicians from
changing factions after they have been elected. After the
2003 elections, many single-mandate deputies joined United
Russia or switched allegiance to other parties. According to
one of the bill's authors, Deputy Aleksandr Kharitonov, the
amendments were not a move against the opposition or small
parties, but an attempt to prevent "people from running from
one party to another." However, independent Deputy Vladimir
Ryzhkov objected that "this bill turns deputies into serfs"
and Boris Nadezhdin, deputy head of the Union of Right Forces
(SPS) agreed, saying, "On the one hand, United Russia wants
to prevent its deputies from leaving the party, but on the
other hand, they also want to complicate the rules for small
opposition parties to get into the Duma."
.
--------------
REACTIONS TO NEW LEGISLATION
--------------


MOSCOW 00007666 003 OF 003



10. (SBU) Despite their hurried passage, these amendments
have been widely criticized by both pro-Kremlin and
opposition forces. At a June 28 meeting of the November 4
Political Discussion Club, the founder of the Club, Valeriy
Fadeyev, concluded that "we are moving toward a stronger
party system." Opposition deputy Sergey Popov, criticizing
the amendments, said "If before the Communist Party of the
Soviet Union was building communism, now United Russia is
building "unirussism"." Boris Nadezhdin, federal policy
council secretary for SPS, complained that the current
amendments were passed too quickly without allowing for
adequate debate or discourse. Aleksey Makarkin, an analyst
with the Political Technology Center, said the reforms were
based on maximum controllability, along with maximum
consolidation, so that eventually only a few parties will
remain.


11. (C) The most prominent critic of the new legislation is
Central Election Commission Chair Aleksandr Veshnyakov, who
has spoken out privately and publicly against most of the
measures. In a July 12 meeting with EUR A/S Fried,
Veshnyakov flatly stated that the proposed amendments to
Russia's election laws were unnecessary and even dangerous to
Russian democracy. Veshnyakov said amendments to the law on
extremism went too far, to the point that even criticism of
the government could be found to be extremist and lead to a
ban on a party or candidate. He said that a whole party
should not be held accountable for one person. If a party's
policy program contains signs of extremism, the party should
be punished. But when it is an individual candidate, the
punishment should be meted out to the individual, not the
party.


12. (C) Veshnyakov commented that the removal of the "against
all" option from the ballot would not only limit voters'
freedom of choice, but could also reduce voter turnout.
Reinstating early voting would revert back to the
problem-filled previous system, opening the way for possible
manipulation of voting. He added that there were still
opportunities to defeat these amendments in the legislative
process, or later, to challenge them in court. Veshnyakov
hinted that if the amendments were enacted, he would likely
step down at the end of his term in spring 2007.
.
--------------
COMMENT
--------------


13. (C) Observers nearly unanimously point to United Russia
as the source for these new measures in an attempt to further
bolster the party's already strong position in the run-up to
the 2007 Duma and 2008 presidential elections. Veshnyakov
and Vladimir Lukin's Office of the Human Rights Ombudsman
have been among the most scathing critics of the measures.
Their criticism reflects the fact that the amendments were
hastily drawn up and poorly conceived. While we believe that
Veshnyakov is sincere in his desire to roll back these
amendments, it is obviously going to be difficult to overturn
those already signed into law by Putin.
BURNS