What are people called in elections? How to take part in the elections? Disadvantages of Electoral Systems

Speaking about voting rights and the electoral system in Russian Federation it is necessary to disclose a number of basic terms and concepts used in Russian legislation.

Elections – the most important institution of modern democracy, a form of direct expression of the will of citizens, carried out in accordance with the Constitution of the Russian Federation, federal laws, constitutions (charters), laws of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, charters of municipalities for the purpose of forming a government body, local government body or empowering an official.

Elections How a constitutional and legal institution of political regulation solves several problems:

– firstly, they legitimize power. It is by election, and not by appointment, that the people determine their representatives and give them the mandate to exercise their sovereign rights;

– secondly, they serve as a barometer of political life. It is the election results that provide an objective assessment of the authority, the “rating” of certain political forces, show the mood of voters, and determine the trends in political life;

– thirdly, elections are a means of selecting political leaders and their political concepts. This enables citizens to transfer leadership functions and powers to those individuals and political forces whose views and programs seemed most convincing to voters.

Thus, elections, like a referendum, represent a legalized form of direct expression of the people's will, an important manifestation of democracy, through which citizens exercise their right to participate in the management of public affairs.

Direct and indirect elections. The first are characterized by the fact that the issue of election is decided directly by citizens. Indirect elections are characterized by the fact that the issue of election is decided not by citizens, but by the persons they have elected - electors, deputies, etc. Indirect elections often elect the upper houses of parliaments, sometimes presidents, governments, judges, etc.

General (general) and partial elections. General elections presuppose the participation of all voters in the country (for example, elections of the lower or only, less often, the upper house of parliament, presidential elections). Partial elections (sometimes called by-elections) are held when it is necessary to replenish the parliament due to the early departure of individual deputies.

In addition, there are elections national (held throughout the country) and regional, local (local) , through which local government bodies are elected.

Elections can be held in one, two rounds or more. If the elections do not take place, then repeat elections are held.

Finally, there are elections regular and extraordinary . As a rule, this division applies to parliamentary elections. The next elections are held either within the terms specified in the Constitution or the law, or are appointed in connection with the expiration of the term of office of parliament. Extraordinary elections are called in case of early dissolution of parliament or chamber.

The term, " electoral system ", used in two meanings. In a broad sense, these are ordered public relations related to elections of public authorities, constituting the election procedure. In a narrow sense, the “electoral system” is a way of distributing deputy mandates to candidates depending on the voting results of voters or other government officials.

A simpler definition of the term “electoral system” implies the procedure for organizing and conducting elections to representative institutions, enshrined in legal norms, as well as determined by the established practice of state and public organizations.

Voting law in the Russian Federation involves the use of various electoral systems.

Majoritarian electoral system- This is one of the main ways to conduct parliamentary and other elections. Under a majoritarian system, a candidate acts in his personal capacity (he can be nominated by a party or in another way) and in order to be elected, he must receive the required majority of votes in the constituency where he is running.

Depending on the required majority established by law and how many deputies each electoral district sends to parliament or another elected body, there are several types of majoritarian systems.

With a single-member system of relative majority The country's territory is divided into electoral districts approximately equal in population, in each of which one deputy is elected and the winner is the candidate who received more votes than the others. One round of elections is sufficient for this.

Under a single-member system of absolute majority In order to be elected, a candidate must not only receive more votes than his opponents, but also collect more than half (50 percent + 1) of the votes cast in the election. If in the first round none of the candidates achieved such a result, a second round is scheduled, in which the two candidates who received the largest number of votes in the first round advance. A deputy who receives more votes than his opponent is considered elected.

In a multi-member system, two (or more) deputies are elected from each electoral district. As a rule, these are one-round elections based on the principle of relative majority.

The disadvantage of the majoritarian system is that it makes possible a sharp discrepancy between the number of mandates received by a political party or other electoral associations and the number of votes collected throughout the country (or region where elections are held). However, this system allows the voter to evaluate the personality of a specific candidate, rather than voting for a (largely impersonal) party list.

Proportional electoral system, applies only in multi-party conditions. Unlike the majoritarian electoral system, the voter does not vote for a specific candidate, but for one of the lists presented by political parties or electoral associations admitted to participate in the elections.

The technique of a proportional system, as a rule, is as follows: each subject of the federation (for example, land, autonomous region) or administrative-territorial unit (region, department) are considered as an electoral district that elects a certain number of deputies according to the size of its population. Parties present lists where the number of candidates is equal to, or, more often, slightly greater than the number of mandates to be filled.

The party wins as many mandates as the number of times the mathematically determined electoral quota fits into the number of valid votes received by the party list. The procedure for determining the quota is established by law, and various methods are used.

In most countries that use a proportional system, only those political parties whose lists received more than a certain established percentage of votes, usually more than 5 percent, are allowed to distribute mandates (the so-called “barrier” designed to prevent excessive fragmentation of political groups in parliament).

The advantage of the proportional system compared to the majoritarian system is that it provides more opportunities to represent the entire spectrum of the country's main political forces in parliament. The disadvantage is that the proportional system makes elections largely impersonal - many candidates on party lists are little known to voters.

IN modern era in everything more In countries, the proportional system is used in combination with the majority system (the so-called mixed system).

Such mixed system was used in the parliamentary elections in Russia in 1993, 1995 and 1999. Half of the deputies of the lower house - the State Duma - were elected according to party lists, and the other half - according to a single-mandate single-round majority system of relative majority (for this, the country's territory was divided into 225 single-mandate electoral districts).

The Federation Council - the upper house - was elected in 1993 according to a two-mandate, one-round electoral system of a relative majority: each subject of the federation acted as an electoral district. About 40 percent of voters who took part in the elections voted for all deputies elected to the State Duma in single-mandate constituencies; the percentage of those who voted for deputies of the Federation Council was slightly higher.

Currently, the upper house of the Federal Assembly consists of the heads of the executive branch and representative bodies of the constituent entities of the federation (i.e., two members of the Federation Council from each constituent entity of the federation).

As a result of the use of the above electoral systems in the Russian Federation, conditions and guarantees have been created for the implementation of electoral rights and the right to participate in a referendum Russian citizens, a system of independent election commissions has been formed, and the latest electoral technologies are being developed and implemented.

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) as part of a legislative or other governing body. The election procedure is used in the system of state, public, and so on management, as well as in the system of management of any other communities of people united by professional, social or other types of activities, beliefs, religions, and so on.

Elections are considered today the most democratic system for filling leadership positions in any community of people.

Types of elections

The election procedure for resolving personnel issues and political appointments to leadership positions is based on the basic laws of the community applying this procedure (the Constitution of the country, the Charter of the enterprise).

Exist different types elections:
1. Regular - held after the expiration of the statutory term of office of the elected body;
2. Early elections - are held in connection with the termination of the previously announced term of office of electoral authorities or elected officials;
3. Elections of deputies in the order of rotation. May be carried out against some deputies of a representative body of state power in the manner and within the time limits established by law;
4. Additional elections (by-elections) - appointed in case of vacancies during the term of office of the collegial body;
5. Repeat elections - are held when the elections held are declared invalid or invalid by a decision of the court or the election commission.

Repeat elections should not be confused with repeat voting, which is held within the framework of elections in the event that none of the candidates received required quantity votes, unless the law provides for a second round of elections.

Electoral systems

There are three main types of electoral systems: majoritarian, proportional and hybrid systems. The proportional system determines the rating of political forces, in proportion to which seats are distributed between these forces. Such a system may also be affected by the threshold for parties that received a small number of votes, when votes cast for small parties are automatically distributed among parties that have crossed the threshold. In a majoritarian system, voters do not vote for parties, but for specific candidates. Under such a system, the candidate who receives a simple majority of votes (that is, at least one vote more than any other candidate) enters parliament. There are also mixed systems. Until 2003, Russia used a proportional-majority system, in which half of the candidates entered parliament on party lists, and the other half were elected in local constituencies using a majoritarian system. The hybrid system is a subsidiary of both the majority system and the proportional system. Its essence can be expressed by the formula: majoritarian with exclusive nomination by a general party list = hybrid = proportional with the indication in the party list of each candidate of the majoritarian district in which he will run.

Majoritarian system

Proportional system

At proportional system Seats in parliament are distributed among political parties according to the number of votes received. When using a proportional system with a threshold, parties that receive less than a certain percentage of votes do not enter parliament. In Russia at the moment the threshold is 5%. Votes cast for parties that did not enter parliament are proportionally distributed among other parties. So, if only 3 main parties A, B and C entered parliament, for which 40%, 25% and 15% of the votes were given, respectively, then the remaining 20% ​​of the votes cast for parties that did not pass the threshold will be distributed in the ratio 40:25:15 and in fact Party A will receive 50%, Party B will receive 31.25%, and Party C will receive 18.75% of the votes. The proportional election system has been in place in Russia since 2003. This system is also used in elections in Israel, Italy, etc. Electoral System In Ukraine, the proportional system was in effect in the elections to the Supreme Council of Ukraine in 2006 and 2007. The district in which elections are held according to the proportional system is called a multi-member electoral district.

Mixed system

It represents a parallel implementation of two principles of organizing the electoral system. Under this system, some deputies are elected in districts using a majoritarian system, and the rest are elected from party lists using a proportional system. It was used in Ukraine in the elections of people's deputies of Ukraine in 2002. Since 2006, a proportional system of elections to the Supreme Council has been in effect in Ukraine. On July 10, 2010, a law was adopted according to which elections of deputies of the Supreme Council of Crimea, regional, district, city, and district councils in cities are held according to a mixed system.

Hybrid system

It is the result of a synthesis of two main systems: majoritarian and proportional. It has the same procedure for determining elected deputies as the majoritarian system, but the procedure for nomination is inherent in the proportional system.

Electoral qualification

To protect the democratic process from incompetent and unsystematic political forces, most countries have different kinds qualifications for voters and candidates. Types of qualifications:

• age
• citizenship
• property
• class

Majority in suffrage

Majority is a constitutional law concept used in conducting various forms voting. In electoral law it is customary to distinguish between absolute, simple, relative and qualification.

Absolute a majority of 50% + 1 vote of the total number of voters or deputies established by the Constitution is considered. That is, the total number is a constitutional number. Such a majority is required when the State Duma adopts laws or decisions regarding their material competence.

Simple a majority is when a candidate receives more than half of the votes cast by voters taking part in the voting. As a rule, elections are considered valid when more than half of the people included in the electoral lists took part in the voting. As a result, a “simple majority” in this case means that the elected person received 25% plus one vote of the total number of voters. This rule applies, for example, during presidential elections. The second meaning means that a decision is made by a majority of the votes present at the meeting or even by a majority of the votes of those who took part in the voting. This form of decision-making is mainly used when discussing procedural issues.

Relative The majority is considered to be the number of votes of the winning candidate for whom more voters voted than for the opponent. This principle is applied when electing deputies for territorial electoral districts. It doesn't matter how many more votes the winner gets, what matters is that they get more votes than their opponents. An election may be considered invalid if less than 25% of voters took part in the voting. The relative majority method is used to determine, by voting, the preference for one of the proposed options for resolving the issue under discussion.

Qualified a majority is considered when a candidate is elected by the highest number of voters who cast their votes for him, for example, 2/3, ¾, of the total number of voters or the number of voters who participated in the vote. It is required, for example, in order to overcome the president, imposed on a law adopted by the State Duma. If the State Duma insists on its way, then it must receive at least 2/3 of the votes. Constitutional laws require at least ¾ votes to pass.

Stages of the electoral process

• setting an election date
• formation (determination) of electoral districts
• establishment of polling stations
• creation of electoral bodies
• Period for nominating candidates or party lists.
• Campaign period is the period during which election campaigning is permitted.
• Exit polls, or exit polls, are informal invitations to voters to record their choices to monitor the actions of the election commission.
• Counting of votes, determination of election results by the election commission. Monitoring compliance with laws on electoral process; electoral legal disputes; liability for electoral violations.

Electronic elections

In electronic elections, instead of regular ballots, special electronic voting devices are used. This allows you to significantly simplify the vote counting procedure.

However, the benefits of using computers for voting are controversial. Some critics argue that electronic elections contradict the principle of transparency and openness of elections, since they do not allow tracking the voting process and can be falsified by hackers. Based on these considerations, the German Constitutional Court ruled in March 2009 to ban the use of computers for voting during elections.

Electoral technologies

In a general sense, this is political advertising and consulting. Forecasting elections.

However, in reality, political technologies should be understood as a set of specific measures, techniques and methods used by specialists in organizing participation in elections (“political technologists”) aimed at winning elections. Sociology, advertising technologies and technologies of formation act as “toolboxes” in electoral technologies. public opinion(PR), selected methods of marketing and social psychology. Currently, the largest election campaigns are organized and carried out by professional teams of specialists, uniting professionals in various fields of election technologies. Russia today is characterized by the dominance in elections of teams of specialists uniting around their leaders and the departure of the majority of specialized agencies into the field of business consulting.

Disadvantages of Electoral Systems

Currently used systems based on absolute or relative majority of votes cannot provide an adequate reflection of the wishes of even the people who participated in the elections. This was shown using elementary reasoning by the French mathematician and philosopher Condorcet

Suffrage- the right of a citizen to elect and be elected.

Passive suffrage is the right to be elected to government bodies and local self-government bodies.

Active suffrage is the right of citizens to elect to elected government bodies, as well as to participate in referendums.

Elections by country

Elections in Russia

Story

In the Soviet Union, regional and district Soviets were formed through elections. The elections were uncontested, since all candidates represented the “Bloc of Communists and Non-Party People” and were approved in advance by the leadership. Citizens could theoretically vote for or against a candidate, but cases where a candidate is not elected are unique. The turnout for the elections was almost one hundred percent thanks to mass campaigning.

Until 1936, elections in Russia were multi-stage, and then direct. In 1990, elections of people's deputies of the RSFSR took place. On June 12, 1991, direct elections of the President of Russia were held for the first time, which Boris Yeltsin won.

Election system in Russia

In Russia, a citizen has the right to vote from the age of 18, the right to be elected to a representative body from the age of 21, and the President of the country from the age of 35.

The President of Russia and the State Duma are elected for a term of 6 (Article 81 of the Russian Constitution) and 5 years, respectively. Based on the Constitution, the President cannot be elected for more than two consecutive terms.

Cancellation of election results

According to some lawyers, the procedure for appealing election results in Russia is not sufficiently developed. Thus, the head of the legal service of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, State Duma deputy Vadim Solovyov believes that:

US elections

President of the U.S.A

USA congress

Elections in Ukraine

Parliamentary elections:

• Elections to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine in 1994 (majority system)
• Elections to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine March 1998 (mixed, proportional-majority system)
• Elections to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine March 2002 (mixed, proportional-majority system)
• Elections to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine March 2006 (proportional system)
• Early parliamentary elections in Ukraine in September 2007
• Elections to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine October 2012 (mixed, proportional-majority system)

Presidential elections

• The first presidential elections in Ukraine (December 1991). Leonid Kravchuk won.
• Elections of the President of Ukraine. Two rounds. 1994 President - Leonid Kuchma.
• Elections of the President of Ukraine. Autumn 1999. Two rounds. President - Leonid Kuchma.
• Elections of the President of Ukraine. Autumn 2004. Two rounds. December 2004 - second round re-vote. President Viktor Yushchenko.
• Elections of the President of Ukraine. 2010 Two rounds. President Viktor Yanukovych.
• Early elections of the President of Ukraine. year 2014. May 25. One round. President Petro Poroshenko.

Local elections.

• Elections 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006
• Elections of deputies to the Supreme Council of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, deputies of regional, district, city, town and village councils.
• In 1994 - direct elections of chairmen of regional councils.
• Since 2006, elections to regional, district and city councils have been on a proportional basis.
• In 2006, city mayors were elected for four years, and local council deputies for five years.

see also

	elections in Wiktionary

Presidential elections - 1991

On June 12, 1991, the presidential elections of the RSFSR took place. This was the only election in which citizens voted for president and vice president on the same ballot, following the American model. Many candidates were nominated for the post of head of state, but in reality only 10 couples submitted documents to the CEC. Boris Gromov, who later became “number two” under Nikolai Ryzhkov, initially ran for the main position, as did Albert Makashov’s “partner” - Alexey Sergeev.

Pairs of candidates were required to submit 100 thousand signatures to the CEC. Everyone did this except Vladimir Zhirinovsky, who took advantage of the legal opportunity and requested the support of people's deputies. For Zhirinovsky to become a candidate, at least 20% of those elected had to support him.

Candidates:

for president - Boris Yeltsin, 60 years old, Chairman of the Supreme Council of the RSFSR; for vice president - Alexander Rutskoy, 43 years old, chairman of the committee of the Supreme Council of the RSFSR, colonel, - non-partisan, with the support of democratic forces;

for president - Nikolai Ryzhkov, 62 years old, former chairman of the USSR Council of Ministers; for vice president - Boris Gromov, 47 years old, First Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of the USSR, People's Deputy of the USSR, Colonel General, Communist Party of the RSFSR;

for president - Vladimir Zhirinovsky, 45 years old, politician; for vice president - Andrey Zavidia, 38 years old, president of the Galand concern, - LDPSS;

for president - Aman Tuleyev, 47 years old, chairman of the Kemerovo Regional Council of People's Deputies, people's deputy of the RSFSR; for vice president - Viktor Bocharov, 57 years old, head of the Kuzbassshakhtostroy plant, people's deputy of the RSFSR, non-party;

for president - Albert Makashov, 53 years old, commander of the Volga-Ural Military District, People's Deputy of the USSR, Colonel General; for vice president - Alexey Sergeev, 60 years old, head of the department of the Academy of Labor and Social Relations, Communist Party of the RSFSR;

for president - Vadim Bakatin, 53 years old, former Minister of Internal Affairs of the USSR; for vice president - Ramazan Abdulatipov, 44 years old, chairman of the Council of Nationalities of the Supreme Council of the RSFSR, non-partisan.

The elections were held according to the absolute majority system.

The turnout was 74.70%.

On July 10, 1991, Boris Yeltsin became president of the RSFSR, and Alexander Rutskoi took the position of vice president.

Presidential elections - 1996

The first round took place on June 16. The Central Election Commission registered 78 initiative groups to nominate presidential candidates. 16 groups were able to collect the million signatures required by law. As a result, the Central Election Commission registered nine candidates, seven were rejected. Six of them appealed this decision to Supreme Court, which ultimately decided to register two more. One of the candidates was Aman Tuleyev. On the eve of the elections, he withdrew his candidacy and called on his supporters to vote for the leader of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation Gennady Zyuganov.

Candidates:

Boris Yeltsin, 65, current president of Russia;

Gennady Zyuganov, 51 years old, Communist Party of the Russian Federation;

Alexander Lebed, 46 years old, Congress of Russian Communities;

Grigory Yavlinsky, 44 years old, Yabloko party;

Vladimir Zhirinovsky, 50 years old, LDPR;

Svyatoslav Fedorov, 68 years old, ophthalmologist, Workers' Self-Government Party;

Mikhail Gorbachev, 65 years old, ex-president THE USSR;

Martin Shukkum, 44, Socialist People's Party;

Yuri Vlasov, 60 years old, weightlifter, ex-State Duma deputy;

Vladimir Bryntsalov, 59 years old, businessman, Russian Socialist Party.

The turnout in the first round was 69.81%.

To win in the first round, a candidate had to get 50% of the votes. Since none of them could do this, a second round was announced, which took place on July 3, 1996.

During the second, the turnout there was 68.88%.

Boris Yeltsin was re-elected President of Russia for a second term.

Presidential elections - 2000

On December 31, 1999, New Year's Eve, Boris Yeltsin announced his resignation, six months before the end of his presidential term. In accordance with the law, in this case, early elections should have taken place within three months. On January 5, 2000, the Federation Council scheduled the vote for March 26. The Central Election Commission registered 28 initiative groups that nominated candidates for the post of head of state. Another five were nominated by electoral associations. Number of signatures required due to tight deadlines submission of documents was halved - from one million to 500 thousand signatures. 15 headquarters were able to present them. As a result, the CEC registered 12 people. Five days before the elections, one of the contenders, Yevgeny Sevastyanov, withdrew his candidacy in favor of Yabloko leader Grigory Yavlinsky.

Candidates:

Vladimir Putin, 47, Russian Prime Minister, self-nominated;

Gennady Zyuganov, 55 years old, Communist Party of the Russian Federation;

Grigory Yavlinsky, 47 years old, Yabloko party;

Aman Tuleyev, 55 years old, governor of the Kemerovo region, self-nominated candidate;

Vladimir Zhirinovsky, 53 years old, LDPR;

Konstantin Titov, 55 years old, governor Samara region, Russian Party of Social Democracy, Union of Right Forces;

Ella Pamfilova, 46 years old, socio-political movement “For Civic Dignity”;

Stanislav Govorukhin, 64 years old, film director, “Fatherland - All Russia” party;

Yuri Skuratov, 47, former Prosecutor General of Russia;

Alexey Podberezkin, 47 years old, socio-political movement “Spiritual Heritage”;

Umar Dzhabrailov, 41 years old, businessman.

On March 26, 2000, elections took place. Vladimir Putin, having overcome the 50 percent barrier, was elected President of the Russian Federation.

The turnout was 68.64%.

Presidential elections - 2004

A peculiarity of the 2004 presidential elections was that the leaders of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation and the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, Gennady Zyuganov and Vladimir Zhirinovsky, did not participate in them. Instead, the parties fielded “newcomers”: Nikolai Kharitonov and Oleg Malyshkin. Yabloko leader Grigory Yavlinsky also did not run. As a result, the CEC registered six candidates. Six more failed to obtain registration: multimillionaire, chairman public organization“All-Russian Party of the People” Anzori Aksentiev-Kikalishvili; businessman Vladimir Bryntsalov; ex-head of the Central Bank, nominated by the Party of Russian Regions (now A Just Russia), Viktor Gerashchenko; public figure Ivan Rybkin; Chairman of the public movement “For Social Justice” Igor Smykov and the odious businessman German Sterligov.

Candidates:

Vladimir Putin, 51, current president of Russia, self-nominated candidate;

Nikolai Kharitonov, 55 years old, Communist Party of the Russian Federation;

Sergei Glazyev, 43 years old, self-nominated candidate;

Irina Khakamada, 49 years old, SPS, “Our Choice”;

Oleg Malyshkin, 52 years old, LDPR;

Sergei Mironov, 51, chairman of the Federation Council, was nominated by the Russian Party of Life.

The turnout was 64.38%.

Presidential elections - 2008

According to the Russian Constitution, Vladimir Putin could no longer run for the post of president of the country. He officially supported the nomination of the United Russia candidate, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, for the post of head of state. This choice was supported by the parties “A Just Russia”, “Civil Power”, “Agrarian Party” and “Greens”. The Central Election Commission registered four presidential candidates. 14 people received refusals, including the leader of the Russian People's Democratic Union and the People for Democracy and Justice party, Mikhail Kasyanov. The defects in the signature lists that he provided to the Central Election Commission amounted to 13.36% instead permissible level at 5%. The world chess champion, one of the leaders of the “Other Russia” coalition, Garry Kasparov, was also not registered. The congress of the initiative group putting forward it did not take place.

Candidates:

Dmitry Medvedev, 42 years old, first deputy prime minister, United Russia party;

Gennady Zyuganov, 63 years old, Communist Party of the Russian Federation;

Vladimir Zhirinovsky, 61 years old, LDPR;

Andrey Bogdanov, 38 years old, self-nominated candidate supported by the Democratic Party of Russia;

According to PACE representatives, the results of the 2008 elections reflect the will of the people. “The people of Russia voted for stability and continuity, which is associated with the current president and the candidate he supports. The elected president will have a solid mandate from the majority of Russians,” stated observers from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

The turnout was 69.6%.

Presidential elections - 2012

On March 4, 2012, the next presidential elections in Russia took place. Dmitry Medvedev decided not to participate in the elections; Vladimir Putin became the main candidate for the post of head of state. In total, the Central Election Commission registered five candidates. Among others, the leader of the unregistered Other Russia party, Eduard Limonov, and a member of the Yabloko political committee, Grigory Yavlinsky, received refusals due to violations of the procedure.

Candidates:

Vladimir Putin, 59 years old, non-party, nominated by United Russia;

Gennady Zyuganov, 67 years old, Communist Party of the Russian Federation;

Mikhail Prokhorov, 46 years old, businessman, self-nominated candidate;

Vladimir Zhirinovsky, 65 years old, LDPR;

Sergei Mironov, 59 years old, “A Just Russia”.

In all regions of Russia, Vladimir Putin took first place. Moreover, in Chechnya, Dagestan, Ingushetia and several other regions, he received more than 90% of the votes. Only in Moscow did Putin fail to overcome the 50% barrier, gaining 46.95%.

The election results were announced on March 5. In the same day elected president Vladimir Putin was congratulated by the leaders of Syria and Iran Bashar al-Assad and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. On March 10, the head of state received congratulations from the owner of the White House, Barack Obama. On May 7, 2012, the president officially took office.

Elections are the election of officials by the population. This procedure is the most important form of civil participation in political and public life countries. Today, in most countries in the world there are elections of one kind or another, thanks to which legitimate power is formed and changed.

Election concept

Suffrage is a key subtype of constitutional rights enshrined in the main law - the Constitution. Without it it is impossible to imagine a free civil society. Voting is the exercise of power by the inhabitants of the country to officials).

At its core, the concept of elections is inextricably linked with In every country, regular elections are held in accordance with established legislation.

Electoral legislation of the Russian Federation

IN modern Russia The elections elect deputies of the general and local parliaments, the president, city mayors and heads of the constituent entities of the Federation. There are several sources of a country's suffrage. This regulations(laws) that regulate voting procedures.

The concept of elections and their place in the life of the country are determined by the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the charters of regions, territories, cities, as well as the constitutions of the republics that are members of the Federation. Throughout the entire period of modern history of the Russian Federation, this legislation remains the basis of its electoral system.

There are also specialized regulations. First of all, this is a Federal law adopted in 2002. Its key purpose is to guarantee citizens of the Russian Federation the preservation of their voting rights. This Federal Law describes voting procedures, as well as principles for conducting campaign campaigns. Over the years of its existence, the document has gone through several editions and revisions. However, despite all the modifications, its basic essence remains the same.

Changes in electoral legislation are cyclical. It is being edited in response to changing political conditions. For example, in 2004, gubernatorial elections were canceled, and a few years later they were returned. Single amendments may be made by special orders of the Russian Federation. Some details of election legislation are within the competence of the Central Election Commission and the State Duma. Therefore, elections also depend on their decisions and decisions.

Direct and indirect elections

Most states have adopted direct and democratic elections. This means that officials are determined directly by the citizen. Polling stations are open for voting. A resident of the country records his choice in the ballot. The will of the people is determined by the amount of these papers.

In addition to direct ones, there are also indirect elections that are opposite to them. The most famous example of such a system is the United States. In the case of indirect elections, the voter delegates his powers to the electors (who later convey the will of their voters and end the election). This is a rather complex and confusing system adopted in different countries largely due to adherence to tradition. For example, in the USA, the president of the country is not elected by citizens, but in the same way, the upper house of the Indian parliament is formed in two stages.

Alternative and uncontested elections

Two election systems (alternative and non-alternative) determine the nature of the entire electoral system, regardless of its other features. What is their essence and difference? Alternativeity assumes that a person has a choice between several candidates. At the same time, citizens give preference to diametrically opposed programs and political ideas.

Uncontested elections come down to a single party (or family name) on the ballot. Today, such a system has practically disappeared from widespread practice. Nevertheless, uncontested elections remain in countries with a one-party system, where the government can be authoritarian or totalitarian.

Majoritarian electoral system

There are many different types of elections in the world today. Although each country has its own unique practices, several key trends can be identified. For example, one of the most common electoral systems is majoritarian. In such elections, the territory of the country is divided into districts, and each of them holds its own voting (with unique lists of candidates).

The majoritarian system is especially effective when electing parliament. Thanks to it, deputies are included who represent the interests of all regions of the country without exception. As a rule, a candidate runs from the district of which he himself is a native. Once in parliament, such deputies will have a clear and precise understanding of the interests of the people who voted for them. That's exactly how it is in in the best possible shape a representative function is performed. It is important to comply with the principle that in fact it is not the deputy who votes in parliament, but the citizens who elected him and delegated his powers.

Types of majoritarian system

The majoritarian system is divided into three subtypes. The first is the principle of absolute majority. In this case, in order to win, the candidate must receive more than half the votes. If it is not possible to identify such a candidate the first time, then they are appointed by-elections. They involve two people who have the largest number of votes. This system is most often typical for municipal elections.

The second principle concerns the relative majority. According to it, any mathematical advantage over opponents is enough for a candidate to win, even if this figure does not exceed the 50% threshold. Much less common is the third principle, which concerns In this case, the specific number of votes required for victory is established.

Proportional electoral system

Common types of elections are based on party representation. According to this principle, the proportional electoral system operates. It forms elected authorities through party lists. When elected in a district, a candidate can also represent interests (for example, communists or liberals), but first of all he offers citizens his own program.

In the case of party lists and the proportional system, the situation is different. Such voting in elections focuses on political movements and organizations, and not on the individual politician. On the eve of elections, parties draw up their lists of candidates. Then, after voting, each movement receives a number of seats in parliament proportional to the votes cast. Candidates included in the lists are included in the representative body. In this case, preference is given to the first numbers: politicians widely known in the country, public figures, popular speakers, etc. The main types of elections can be characterized differently. Majoritarian ones are individual, proportional ones are collective.

Open and closed party lists

The proportional system (like the majority system) has its own variations. The two main subtypes include voting on open party lists (Brazil, Finland, the Netherlands). Such direct elections are an opportunity for the voter not only to choose a party list, but also to support a specific party member (in some countries you can support two or more). This is how the preference rating of candidates is formed. In such a system, a party cannot unilaterally decide which members to nominate to parliament.

Closed lists are used in Russia, Israel, the European Union and South Africa. IN in this case a citizen has the right to vote only for the party he likes. The specific people who get into parliament are determined by the political organization itself. The voter first of all votes for the general program.

Pros and cons of the proportional system

All types of elections have their own advantages and disadvantages. The proportional system is positively different in that citizens' votes do not simply disappear. They go into the party’s common treasury and influence the political agenda. There is also an important circumstance in this rule. Each country has a certain threshold. Parties that do not pass this mark do not enter parliament. Therefore, the most fair elections in this case are considered to be in Israel, where the minimum threshold is only 1% (in Russia 5%).

The disadvantage of the proportional system is considered to be a partial distortion of the principle of democracy. List elected officials inevitably lose touch with their voters. If candidates are determined by the party, they do not have to prove their own competence to people. Many experts criticize closed lists for being susceptible to all sorts of political technologies. For example, there is the “locomotive principle”. Using it, parties are put ahead of their own closed lists people recognizable among the people (film, pop and sports stars). After the elections, these “locomotives” renounce their mandates in favor of little-known party functionaries. History knows many cases when the closeness of parties led to dictatorship within the organization and the dominance of the bureaucracy.

Mixed elections

The electoral system can combine two basic principles (majoritarian and proportional). With this configuration it will be considered mixed. In Russia today, when electing parliament, these are the direct general elections. Half of the deputies are determined by lists, the other half by single-mandate constituencies. The mixed electoral system will be applied on September 18, 2016 (before that it was used in State Duma elections until 2003 inclusive). In 2007 and 2011, the proportional principle with closed party lists was in effect.

Other formats of the electoral system are also called a mixed system. For example, in Australia, one house of parliament is elected by party lists, and the other by single-member constituencies. There is also a mixed connected system. According to its rules, seats in parliament are distributed according to a single-member majority principle, but voting takes place according to lists.

Advantages and disadvantages of the mixed principle

Any mixed system is flexible and democratic. It is constantly changing and offers the country several ways to form the composition of representative bodies. In this case, polling stations can become the site of several elections at once, taking place according to different principles. For example, in Russia, voting at the municipal level of cities is increasingly being carried out in this format.

Mixed direct elections are an important factor in fragmenting the political system. Therefore, experts consider it a serious test for countries with young, failed democracies. Fragmented political organizations are forced to create coalitions. In this case, a party majority in parliament is practically unattainable. On the one hand, this interferes with decision-making, on the other hand, such a picture is a clear example of the versatility of a society in which there are many groups with different interests. Mixed electoral system and a large number of small parties were typical for Russia and Ukraine in the 1990s.

Every person who has reached adulthood, one way or another, has an idea of ​​what elections are. After all, it is the duty of citizens to participate in the political life of their country, if not directly, then through the election of representatives of a given people. In the very general concept, elections are the decision-making process through which the people elect individual representatives to public office, thereby forming the apparatus of government.

Why are elections needed?

The holding of elections is necessary to legally confirm in office a representative of a group of people who participate in elections, or the head of an administrative body. Elections, as a procedure, are used to elect representatives as government controlled, as well as regional and local authorities. This process is also carried out in various private and commercial organizations, clubs, associations, corporations and many other associations. The procedure is based on approved laws on which specific associations are based (Constitution, charters, etc.).

Election classification

Elections can be divided into several groups. There are 4 types of elections:

• Regular and early. The next election is held when the statutory term of office of an official expires. Early elections are held when the powers of the elected body or person are terminated earlier than the stated period.
• Basic and additional. Used to select representatives of legislative bodies. Major elections are held to elect the entire legislature. Additional - in case a deputy leaves early, or due to the emergence of additional vacancies.
• General and partial or rotational. General elections are simultaneous elections of all deputies of the legislative body. Rotational - are carried out to elect a part of the deputies of the legislative (representative) body of state power.
• Initial and repeated. Initial elections are held when terms of office expire or are terminated early. Repeat elections are called if the initial elections are declared invalid or untenable by a court or election commission decision.

Electoral systems: what are direct and indirect elections?

The most democratic system is considered to be a system of direct elections, in which deputies and representatives of government bodies are elected directly and directly. Indirect, also indirect and multi-level, elections are a system in which special representative bodies or electors are first elected, who, in turn, elect executive to the corresponding post.

How are elections different from a referendum?

The main difference between elections and a referendum is the object of the will of citizens. When an election elects an official or representative, the purpose of a referendum is to pass important government issues, decisions, or laws by popular vote.

Election stages

The election procedure includes the following stages:

1. Setting a date
2. Formation of the election commission and polling stations
3. Voter Registration
4. Nomination of candidates
5. Election campaign
6. Vote
7. Counting votes and determining results

Elections are considered the most democratic mechanism by which leadership positions are filled in any community of people.