Russian Regional Elections 2023: Updates on Putin’s Meetings with Governors and Parties’ Nomination Strategies

2023-06-07 00:13:53

President Vladimir Putin is completing a series of meetings with heads of regions who are up for re-election in September 2023. The President has already spoken to 15 of the 17 incumbent governors – two communists being the exceptions. On Tuesday, June 6, the president spoke with the head of the Magadan region, Sergei Nosov.

In addition, on June 1, the President met with Governor of the Moscow Region Andrey Vorobyov, on May 29 with Head of Yakutia Aisen Nikolaev, on May 16 with Governor of Amur Region Vasily Orlov and Head of Novosibirsk Region Andrey Travnikov, on May 11 with Head of Tyumen Region Alexander Moor, 10 May – with the head of the Ivanovo region Stanislav Voskresensky, May 3 – with the head of the Nizhny Novgorod region Gleb Nikitin, May 2 – with the governor of the Altai Territory Viktor Tomenko and the head of the Voronezh region Alexander Gusev.

The president met with the heads of regions in April and March: on April 18 – with the governor of the Pskov region Mikhail Vedernikov, on April 10 – with the head of Primorye Oleg Kozhemyako, on March 28 – with the governor of the Samara region Dmitry Azarov, on March 23 – with the governor of the Kemerovo region Sergey Tsivilev.

In addition, the president regularly holds meetings with Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, and their personal meeting was held in the Kremlin on February 7. So far, the president has not communicated only with the governors from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, who announced that they would go to the polls – Andrei Klychkov from the Oryol region and Valentin Konovalov from Khakassia. An interlocutor close to the presidential administration says that Klychkov’s meeting with Putin could take place this week.

Elections have started

The regions have already begun to make decisions on the appointment of gubernatorial elections. On June 1, elections were called by the deputies of the legislature of the Pskov region.

The deputies of the Legislative Assembly of the Altai Territory at their meeting on June 6 decided to schedule the gubernatorial elections for September 10, 2023. On the same day, a similar decision was made by the Duma of Chukotka.

In Moscow and Khakassia, regional dumas will decide on the appointment of elections for heads of regions on June 7. In Moscow, Voronezh, Omsk, Nizhny Novgorod, Ivanovo, Amur, Novosibirsk, Tyumen, Smolensk, Magadan regions, Krasnoyarsk Territory, Yakutia, the issue of calling regional duma elections will be considered on June 8.

The meeting of the Samara provincial Duma, where they will consider the issue of calling elections, will be held on June 9. On the same day, the issue will be considered by the Oryol Regional Duma. In Primorsky Krai and Kuzbass, there is no data on the holding of extraordinary meetings on the websites of legislative assemblies. In the new regions, the election of heads will be indirect, Vedomosti previously wrote.

According to federal and regional legislation, gubernatorial elections are called no earlier than 100 days and no later than 90 days before voting day. After the elections are called, the parties nominate their candidates. To participate in the gubernatorial elections, they need to overcome the municipal filter. Then there is the registration of candidates.

Party Candidates The vast majority of current governors will run for election from United Russia, including Sobyanin, who previously ran as a self-nominated candidate. All heads of regions that are up for re-election (with the exception of Klychkov and Konovalov) will be nominated by the party, Sergey Perminov, deputy secretary of the United Russia General Council, told Vedomosti.

The Communist Party of the Russian Federation plans to nominate candidates in all regions where there will be gubernatorial elections, Yury Afonin, the first deputy chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, told Vedomosti: “Now we are completing the selection of candidates – basically these are the first secretaries of the regional committees. Branch nomination conferences will begin on June 10th.” According to him, they expect to overcome the municipal filter everywhere, including in regions where the filter is difficult – like the Altai Territory: “We hope that candidates will not be excluded because of the municipal filter.”

The LDPR also plans to nominate candidates in all regions, the discussion took place at the highest council of the party on June 6, says Alexei Didenko, deputy head of the faction in the State Duma: “These will be either State Duma deputies or regional deputies, department coordinators.” He expects the party’s candidates to pass the municipal filter: “There is an understanding that parliamentary parties should participate in the elections. Where there are not enough municipal deputies of our own, we will turn to other parties, including United Russia, to arrange an exchange of signatures.”

Earlier, information appeared on Telegram channels that in the Samara region, the LDPR would nominate State Duma Deputy Chairman of the Duma Committee on Labor Yaroslav Nilov, and in Moscow, in the mayoral elections, Deputy State Duma Speaker Boris Chernyshov.

A Just Russia is planning to nominate candidates for gubernatorial elections in eight regions, Dmitry Gusev, the first deputy head of the faction, who himself plans to run for mayoral elections in Moscow, told Vedomosti. In most regions, the party will nominate the chairmen of the councils of regional departments: in the Ivanovo region – Pavel Popov, in the Krasnoyarsk region – Maxim Markert, in the Kemerovo region – Yuri Skvortsov, in the Nizhny Novgorod region – Tatyana Grinevich, in the Samara region – Mikhail Maryakhin. In the Moscow region and Chukotka, deputies of legislative assemblies will be nominated – Anatoly Nikitin and Anton Lobanov, respectively.

Representatives of the New People did not answer the question in which regions the party would nominate candidates for governors. So far, the upcoming regional elections look fairly regulated, Mikhail Vinogradov, president of the Petersburg Politics Foundation, says: “There is uncertainty around Khakassia, where managed competition can be allowed. Otherwise, the scenario of recent years is expected, when the governor’s competitor is his own anti-rating. But even where there are problems, like Yakutia and the Altai Territory, it is unlikely that any of the competitors will be able to exploit this.” Much will depend on the general temperature of public sentiment, the situation is still relatively stable, the expert says.

The ratings of the heads of regions are not the same, so there are risks that even technical candidates may receive support, as was the case in 2018, and now elections are taking place in the same regions where they were that year, says political scientist Alexander Kynev. “But, as a rule, in recent years, elections have been held with a low turnout. Therefore, much will depend on the overall activity of voters. In addition, the activity of the systemic opposition is also important, but it can hardly be expected,” he said. The main competition, according to him, is expected in the legislative elections, when A Just Russia, the Liberal Democratic Party and the New People will fight for passage to the parliaments.

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