#6036
[Second Issue of the Day]
#7
Nezavisimaya Gazeta
January 23, 2002
SEEKING EMPLOYMENT: SUBMIT PROPOSALS TO THE PARTY
Priorities and current developments for several major parties
Author: Alexandra Novikova
[from WPS Monitoring Agency, www.wps.ru/e_index.html]
OVERALL, POLITICAL PARTIES IN RUSSIA ARE CONCERNED WITH STRENGTHENING THEIR POWER IN THE REGIONS; SOME OF THEM, HOWEVER, ARE ALREADY PREPARING FOR THE NEXT DUMA ELECTIONS. POLITICAL PARTIES PREPARE TO RESUME THEIR ACTIVITY AFTER THE NEW YEAR HOLIDAYS.
Following a sequence of party congresses, most of them in December 2001 and January 2002 and concerned with bringing the structures' documentation in conformity with the law "On the Parties", there emerged a general effect that the political structures of Russia only took a time off. (...)ctOnly now Russia's political structures become to resume their activities after the New Year's holidays; so, the party life promises to become more diverse soon. What are the parties planning to do in the near future? We asked the leading political parties this question.
Establishing regional branch offices is the fundamental problem the party authorities of United Russia faces. Unlike all the rest of the parties, it has to implement the most difficult step - to unite three local groups of the party in each of 89 regions and elect its local leaders. In an interview to our reporter, senior deputy of the Central executive committee of United Russia Yevgeny Trofimov told that the party has decided to use a non-typical approach to resolution of this delicate issue. Instead of ordering to solve all staff problems in the regions within a month, the membership of the party applied to governors, head of legislative assemblies in the regions and also regional envoys with a request to express their opinions about the most suitable candidacy for heading local branches of United Russia. As a result, over 2,000 proposals was submitted into the Central committee, and the most honorable would be picked out at a special meeting in March, and only after that the candidacies will be nominated to regional branch offices. After that the party will build up the network of local and primary party groups. Most frequently, university heads of local higher education institutions and also directors of enterprises are proposed, Trofimov said. In some regions, regional leaders even include themselves in the party lists, as, for instance, Ulianovsk governor Vladimir Shamanov. Moreover, to complete the main documents of the party and form the machinery of the new structure is among United Russia's plans.
The Union of Right Forces (URF) is also active, as usual. Thus, in February the party of Boris Nemtsov intends to hold a conference dedicated to freedom of speech in Russia entitled "Power of press of the press on power?", and also a campaign aimed against toughening the visa regime for Russian citizens entering the US. Besides, the URF intends to continue upholding the necessity for conducting a military reform, which the government is about to resume to discuss in March. As for withdrawal of a part of party members from the URF, it would not excite a wave of withdrawals from the party, as is thought in the structure. However, an upcoming political council of the URF, at which confirmation of the authority of the head of the party's executive committee is expected, can be rather hard. Three nominees would claim to this post, which is currently occupied by Eldar Yanbukhtin, a source in the URF told us. Preparation of amendments to the Constitution, linked with transition of the Federation Council on the elective basis will be the main "surprise" from the URF.
Yabloko is also preparing the bill of appointing the upper house by election; however, the party does not intend to amend the Constitution, deputy chairman of Yabloko Sergei Mitrokhin said. Basically, Grigory Yavlinsky's structure intends to focus on the struggle for banning exportation of the nuclear waste to Russia and also working out amendments into the law of reforming the housing services. Moreover, Yabloko also intends to work on the bill "On Public Television", which would enable forming a certain semblance of the BBC TV network, and also the document "On Public Monitoring of Activity of the Special Services." As for the party building, the entire year through Yabloko will be forming a network of election headquarters, which would not elect regional heads only, but also prepare for the next elections to the Duma.
Unlike the parties mentioned above, the CPRF held its congress only last Saturday. Therefore, in the near future the structure under the head of Gennady Zyuganov intends to get ready for changing the registration of the party in the Justice Ministry. In order to succeed in that, the communists will have to hold conferences in the regions. Decisions adopted at the congress are to be confirmed at the conferences; after that the documentation will be submitted to the Justice Ministry headed by Yuri Chaika.
However, the communists consider preparation for the impending parliamentary election to be their main task. It is piously believed in the CPRF that the parliamentary election will be held ahead of schedule.
The major wave of tempestuous election campaigns is behind already, whereas less than two years is left until the next Duma election, if the forecast of the communists is not taken into account. So, the only factors which can enliven routine of current Russia's political structures are, on the whole, either the law "On the Parties", or law creation in the lower house of parliament.
(Translated by Andrei Ryabochkin)
Back to the Top Next Article
- Back to the Top -