In Russian legal and scientific literature, two different concepts of the electoral system are used. Two terms are used to distinguish them: "electoral system in the broad sense" and "electoral system in the narrow sense."
The concept of the electoral system
- a set of legal norms that form the electoral right. Suffrage is a set of legal norms governing the participation of citizens in elections. Unlike many foreign constitutions, the Constitution of the Russian Federation does not contain a special chapter on the right to vote.
-a set of legal norms that determine the results of voting. Based on these legal norms, the following are determined: the type of constituencies, the form and content of the ballot, etc.
Depending on what type of electoral system (in the narrow sense) will be used in a particular election, the results for the same voting results may be different.
Types of electoral systems
The types of electoral systems are determined by the principles for the formation of a representative body of power and the procedure for distributing mandates based on the results of voting. In fact, there are as many types of electoral systems in the world as there are countries that form governments through elections. But over the centuries-old history of elections, basic types of electoral systems have been created, on the basis of which elections are held all over the world.
- (French majorité - majority) electoral system. Under the majoritarian electoral system, the candidate with the most votes is considered elected.
There are three types of majority system:
- absolute majority - the candidate must gain 50% + 1 vote;
- Relative majority - the candidate needs to get the largest number of votes. Moreover, this number of votes may be less than 50% of all votes;
- Qualified Majority – The candidate must obtain a predetermined majority of votes. Such an established majority is always more than 50% of all votes - 2/3 or 3/4.
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- Mixed electoral system.
An electoral system in which part of the mandates to a representative body of power is distributed according to the majority system, and part according to the proportional system. That is, two electoral systems are used in parallel.
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This is a system of formation of elected authorities through party representation. Political parties and/or political movements put forward lists of their candidates. The voter votes for one of these lists. The mandates are distributed in proportion to the votes received by each party.
It is a synthesis of majoritarian and proportional electoral systems. Candidates are nominated according to the proportional system (according to party lists), and voting is carried out according to the majority system (personally for each candidate).
Electoral system of the Russian Federation
The electoral system in Russia includes several main types of electoral systems.
The electoral system of the Russian Federation is described by the following federal laws:
- No. 19-FZ "On the Election of the President of the Russian Federation"
- No. 51-FZ "On the election of deputies of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation"
- No. 67-FZ "On Basic Guarantees of Electoral Rights and the Right to Participate in a Referendum of Citizens of the Russian Federation"
- No. 138-FZ "On ensuring the constitutional rights of citizens of the Russian Federation to elect and be elected to local governments"
- No. 184-FZ "On the general principles of the organization of legislative (representative) and executive bodies of state power of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation"
Prior to the adoption of the relevant law in 2002, at the regional elections of senior officials in some constituent entities of the Russian Federation, varieties of the majority system were used that did not belong either to the system of absolute or to the system of relative majority. The candidate was required to receive a relative majority of votes, but not less than 25% of the number of citizens included in the voter lists, and in some subjects of the Russian Federation - not less than 25% of the number of voters who took part in the vote. Now all regional elections are held according to the same principles for all.
In the elections of senior officials (president, governor, mayor), the majoritarian electoral system of absolute majority is used. If none of the candidates has won an absolute majority of votes, a second round is scheduled, where two candidates who have received a relative majority of votes go through.
In elections to the representative body of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation, a mixed electoral system is used. In elections to the representative body of the municipality, it is possible to use both a mixed electoral system and a majoritarian system of a relative majority.
From 2007 to 2011, elections to the State Duma were held according to the proportional system. From 2016, half of the deputies (225) of the State Duma of the Russian Federation will be elected in single-member districts by the majoritarian system, and the second half - in a single constituency under the proportional system with a percentage barrier of 5%
The electoral system of the Russian Federation does not currently provide for the use of a hybrid electoral system. Also, the electoral system in Russia does not use the majoritarian electoral system of a qualified majority.
In the literature, the term "electoral system" is described in two meanings. In a broad sense, this concept refers to social relations that are directly related to elections and constitute their order. They are regulated by constitutional law, as well as the norms established by public associations. An important role is played by traditions and customs, norms of political ethics and morality.
The main principles of the electoral system are singled out: universality, free-willed participation in elections and equality of citizens in the process, mandatory vote, competitiveness, equal opportunities for all applicants, "transparency" of conduct and preparatory work.
Accordingly, under the electoral system
one can understand the mechanism by which state power and self-government are formed in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. This process includes several main points: a system of bodies fixed by lawmaking, which is directly entrusted with the authority to carry out activities and conduct an election campaign; as well as the activities of subjects of legal relations and political structures.
In the narrow sense of the word, this system is considered as a way enshrined in legal acts that allows you to establish the results of elections and distribute deputy mandates. This process directly depends on the voting results.
The main systems are determined, first of all, by the principles of the formation of
organ of power. They differ in different states. However, thanks to centuries of experience, two main types have been distinguished: majoritarian and proportional. These types of electoral systems, or rather their elements, find themselves in other diverse models.
Based on personal representation in power. Therefore, a certain person is always nominated as a candidate for a position. However, the mechanism for nomination may vary: some types of electoral systems allow self-nomination of candidates, for example, from public associations, while others require candidates to run exclusively from political parties. However, with any alignment of forces, consideration takes place on a personal basis. Therefore, a capable, adult citizen, having come to the polls, will vote for a specific person as an independent unit of the described process.
As a rule, those types of electoral system, the basis of which is the majority, hold elections in single-mandate constituencies. The number of such constituencies directly depends on the number of mandates. The winner is the campaigner who receives the most votes in the county.
proportional system.
It is based on the principle of party representation. Accordingly, in this case, it is they who put forward lists of certain candidates for whom it is proposed to vote. Types of electoral systems based on proportionality offer to actually vote for a political party that protects the interests of certain strata. The mandates are subject to distribution proportionally in accordance with the number of votes cast (as a percentage).
The places in the body of power that the party has received are occupied by people from the list put forward by it and in accordance with the priority established by it. Usually they are received by the first 90 candidates from the corresponding list.
mixed system
Attempts to make the most of the types of electoral systems described above have led to the emergence of mixed systems. Their essence boils down to the fact that some of the deputies are elected by the majority system, and some - by proportional. Accordingly, the voter has the opportunity to vote for both the candidate and the political party. This system was used in Russia when choosing deputies of the State Duma of the first four convocations.
In the legal literature, two approaches to understanding the electoral system are common: broad and narrow.
In a broad sense the electoral system is understood as a set of social relations that develop regarding the formation of state authorities and local self-government through the implementation of citizens' electoral rights.
narrow understanding The electoral system is associated, as a rule, with the methods (techniques) of establishing the voting results and determining the winner in the elections and is regarded as a kind of legal formula by which the results of the election campaign are determined at the final stage of the elections.
Types of electoral systems
In their totality, they give the most complete picture of the elements that form the electoral system, the various combinations and content of which determine the selection of different types of electoral systems.
The current legislation on elections provides for the possibility of using the following types of electoral systems: majoritarian, proportional and mixed (majority-proportional) electoral system.
Majoritarian electoral system
The essence of the majoritarian system is the division of the territory where elections are held into constituencies in which voters vote personally for certain candidates. To be elected, a candidate (candidates, if the elections are held in multi-member constituencies) must receive a majority of the votes of the voters who took part in the voting. From a legal point of view, the majoritarian electoral system is distinguished by its universality of application, which allows it to be used for the election of both collegial bodies and individual officials. The right to nominate candidates under this electoral system is vested both in citizens by way of self-nomination and in political parties (electoral associations). In the event of the formation of vacant mandates, due, among other things, to the early termination of the powers of deputies (elected officials), it is mandatory to hold new (additional, early or repeated) elections.
proportional electoral system used in the elections of deputies of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation. It is rare in the subjects of the Federation in its pure form (Dagestan, Ingushetia, Amur Region, Sverdlovsk Region, St. Petersburg). As for municipal elections, the proportional electoral system is generally uncharacteristic for them. A rare exception in this regard is the city of Spass k-Dalniy of Primorsky Krai, whose charter provides for the election of all deputies of the city district on party lists.
Mixed electoral system
A mixed (majority-proportional) electoral system is a combination of majoritarian and proportional systems with a statutory number of deputy mandates distributed over each of them. Its application allows you to combine the advantages and smooth out the shortcomings of the majority and proportional systems. At the same time, political parties (electoral associations) are given the opportunity to nominate the same persons as candidates both on a party list and in single-mandate (multi-mandate) constituencies. The law only requires that in the event of simultaneous nomination in a single-mandate (multi-mandate) constituency and in the list of candidates, information about this must be indicated in the ballot prepared for voting in the corresponding single-mandate (multi-mandate) constituency
The mixed system is currently used in the elections of legislative (representative) bodies of state power in almost all subjects of the Federation. This is due to the fact that the Federal Law “On the Basic Guarantees of Electoral Rights and the Right to Participate in a Referendum of Citizens of the Russian Federation” (Article 35) requires that at least half of the deputy mandates in the legislative (representative) body of state power of a constituent entity of the Federation or in one of its chambers were subject to distribution among the lists of candidates put forward by electoral associations, in proportion to the number of votes received by each of the lists of candidates.
When holding elections of deputies of representative bodies of municipalities, the mixed majority-proportional system is used much less frequently. In all likelihood, this is due to the fact that federal legislation does not require the mandatory use of elements of the proportional system in relation to the municipal level of formation of representative bodies of power.
Representation and elections
An essential part of the political process in a democratic country - elections. Elections are beneficial from an economic point of view. If they are not, then alternative one is the maintenance of a huge repressive apparatus.
The will of the people must be expressed through periodic non-rigged elections. Free and fair elections are a prerequisite and an element of democracy. If a society recognizes the results of elections, then it is a democratic society.
Elections are a procedure by which citizens nominate the people they need to pursue their interests.
Election Functions:
1. Transfer of power peacefully through the will of citizens;
2. Participation of citizens in the government of the country(by forming representative bodies of power);
3. Population control over power(before elections, the authorities often change their policies in order to get closer to the people. It is difficult to rule without legitimacy);
4. Society gets a real opportunity to choose and change one or another political course(Elections are a political market. Candidates offer us their qualities, programs, experience, in exchange for our votes they will receive power).
The electoral system is a set of rules, principles, norms, methods established by law, with the help of which the results of voting are determined and distributed deputy mandates.
Suffrage - a set of rules that determine the procedure for elections.
There are 3 main types of electoral systems in the world:
1. Majority (system (principle) of the majority). It applies to individual candidates for public office, as well as to political parties that wish to be elected to a representative body. Under the majoritarian system, the subject who has won the majority of votes is considered elected to a public office. In the conditions of the majority system, only one subject can be the winner. It is the majoritarian system that is used in Belarus, but it is applied only to individual candidates, not to political parties. There are several varieties of the majority system:
a. Absolute majority system : a person who received more than half of the votes (50% +1) from the voters who appeared is considered elected. Constituencies are single-member. The second round is held in 2 weeks; They contribute to the formation of stable party blocs.
b. Relative majority system: a person who receives more votes than any of his competitors (40% and 30% and 20%) is considered elected; constituencies are single-member. Used in Great Britain and its former colonies, in the USA. This system is more efficient, economical, gives results in the first round. If the candidates received the same number of votes, then a lot is used, looking at the age of the candidate. This system creates a two-party system.
c. Supermajority system : in this case, in order to be elected, it is necessary to gain an even greater number of votes than with an absolute majority system, for example, 2/3 of the votes or another percentage. Prior to the amendments to the Constitution of Kazakhstan, it stated that a presidential candidate who received more than 60% of the votes is considered elected.
In Belarus in the presidential elections and the majority system of absolute majority is used in elections to the Parliament. However, several years ago, a majoritarian system of relative majority was introduced for elections to local councils of deputies.
Majoritarian electoral system provided by the legislation of most countries of the world (USA, UK, France).
The advantage is:
Ø taking into account the opinion of the majority;
Ø formation of a stable Government;
Ø such a system personalizes the elections, voters vote not only for the party, but for the individual;
Ø allows independent candidates to participate in elections;
Ø stimulates the consolidation of parties;
Ø Easier to control the process.
The majority system has its drawbacks:
Ø does not fully express the political will of the population;
Ø losers do not get seats at all;
Ø the principle of universality is violated;
Ø does not provide a correlation between the number of votes that a party will receive in the country as a whole and the number of its representatives in Parliament.
2. proportional electoral system. It only applies to political parties. In this case, several political parties may be elected, the number of seats in the representative body (Parliament) will depend (be proportional) on the number of votes cast for them. The mandates are distributed among the parties in accordance with the number of votes cast for them.
(electoral quota: how much does one seat cost)
The higher the electoral threshold, the fewer parties there will be in Parliament. The threshold can adjust their number.
Advantages:
Ø takes into account the various interests of voters;
Ø reflects the real alignment of forces;
Ø raises the political culture of voters;
Ø stimulates the interest of the population in the activities of parties.
The proportional electoral system has now been introduced in approximately 60 countries of the world, including Russia, Israel, Denmark, and Turkmenistan.
Disadvantages:
Ø with many batches, inconsistency may occur;
Ø contributes to the growth of the number of parties, which are usually unstable (it can be regulated through the electoral threshold);
Ø the role of small parties is growing;
Ø parties begin to regenerate;
Ø The personal qualities of candidates are not evaluated.
Political result- the emergence and development of small parties. This system encourages multi-party
· Closed party list. Voters have the right to vote only for the party. Voters cannot change it;
· Open list. Voters can change the preference (numbering) of candidates;
· Semi-hard list. The first place is always given to the leader of the party, and the rest of the seats are appointed by the people (Netherlands, Denmark, Austria);
· panashing. Blocking candidates from different parties (Switzerland, Luxembourg). Voters have multiple votes (for example, 5).
Mixed electoral system. In order to avoid some of the shortcomings of the majoritarian and proportional systems, some states use a mixed electoral system: some of the seats in the represented body are filled under the majoritarian system, and the other part under the proportional system, for example, in Georgia.
Elections are a democratic procedure by which performers are determined for some key positions in various public structures (states, organizations). Elections are carried out by voting (secret, open), held in accordance with the election regulations.
Political elections are a set of legal norms in which citizens nominate representatives from the environment and give them power over all citizens.
The electoral system is the provision of laws, the procedure for electoral law, the organization of elections, the determination of voting results and the distribution of deputy mandates.
There are two systems:
1. Majority - from fr. "zhorite" - the majority is a system of certain results, according to which the candidate who receives the most votes is considered elected.
There are two types: absolute and relative:
Relative - the one who received more votes than each of the opponents separately is considered elected. This system is always effective. (M. Thatcher was prime minister 4 times in 12 years).
Disadvantages:
The principle of universal suffrage is violated
No adequacy
Parties that support the rural population are more privileged, because. they are smaller in number.
Two or more political parties for which an approximately equal number of voters voted receive an unequal number of seats.
The head of state may not represent an absolute majority.
2. Proportional.
A system for determining the results of voting in which mandates among political parties are distributed according to the number of votes. Elections are only party elections, each party puts forward only its own list. (Austria, Australia, Belgium, Italy).
To obtain voting results, you need a minimum of votes - an electoral quota - as a rule, it is calculated. There is a system of rigid lists - the party that has gained the number appoints its deputies. There is a system of free lists - each voter can mark the deputy he likes.
Advantages:
Allows you to create central and local representative bodies that most adequately reflect the composition of the country.
More democratic, every vote counts.
In practice, an order is established, reservations, if a party does not gain a minimum of votes, is not allowed into parliament in order to weed out small parties. If there are 10 parties in the parliament, it is not capable
The modern electoral system in Russia is very young.
According to the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the electoral legislation belongs to the current jurisdiction of the Russian Federation and its subjects. This means that in elections to their bodies of state power, the subjects of the Federation are obliged to comply with the federal legislation on elections and, at the same time, independently adopt such laws. Such a solution of the issue, on the one hand, ensures a certain uniformity of the electoral systems of the Federation and its subjects, and on the other hand, it gives rise to differences in the electoral systems of the subjects of the Federation. Differences can be considered insignificant, but they still exist, so it is impossible to talk about the electoral system in the subjects of the Federation as a single system for all. The assertion that the Russian Federation has one federal electoral system and 89 electoral systems of the subjects of the Federation is not without foundation. To this should be added a significant number of electoral systems for elections to local self-government bodies that do not coincide in many details.
Elections to state authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation and local self-government bodies are held in accordance with the constitutions and charters, laws on elections adopted by the legislative bodies of the constituent entities of the Federation. If there is no such law, then the elections of the body of state power of the subject of the Russian Federation and the body of local self-government are held on the basis of federal law.
Elections of deputies to the relevant bodies of state power of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation are carried out on the basis of universal, equal, direct suffrage by secret ballot. These principles, enshrined in the constitutions and charters of the subjects of the Federation, are valid throughout the territory of the Russian Federation by virtue of its Constitution and federal laws. However, the constitutions, statutes and laws of the subjects of the Federation, as a rule, limit the principle of universality of suffrage, narrowing the circle of persons who have the right to vote (active suffrage) and be elected to the state authorities of the subjects of the Federation. For example, in the Republic of Buryatia (as well as in other republics), citizenship has been introduced, and only citizens of the Republic of Buryatia are granted by the Constitution the right to elect and be elected to state authorities of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Buryatia, local governments, as well as to participate in a referendum of the Russian Federation and Republic of Buryatia. In many subjects of the Federation, where there is no own citizenship, a rule has been introduced according to which only those citizens who permanently reside in this territory are vested with the right to vote.1
The legislation of the constituent entities of the Federation fixes the residency requirement for the election of deputies of legislative bodies and heads of administrations (executive power). The federal law allows the subjects of the Federation to establish periods of compulsory residence on their territory, which, however, cannot exceed one year. In accordance with this, for example, the Law of St. Petersburg “On the Election of the Head of the Executive Power of St. Petersburg” stipulates that a citizen of the Russian Federation who, meeting other conditions, lives in St. Petersburg for one year, can be elected governor of the city, moreover, the fact of residence in this territory is established in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation. However, in many subjects of the Federation, the requirements of the Federal Law are being violated, and the number of qualifications is increasing. In a number of Republics, the Head of the Republic or the Chairman of the State Council is at least 15 years in the Republics of Tyva and Sakha (Yakutia), at least 10 years in the Republics of Adygea, Bashkortostan, Buryatia, Kabardino-Balkaria, Komi, Tatarstan. In the Republic of Karelia, there is a period - at least 7 years before the elections, residence in the republic for at least 10 years after reaching the age of majority. The Charter of Moscow establishes that a citizen who has permanently resided in the city for at least 10 years can be elected mayor of the city, in the Charters of the Kurgan, Sverdlovsk, Tambov regions, this period is 5 years. The Federal Law “On the Basic Guarantees of Electoral Rights and the Right to Participate in a Referendum of Citizens of the Russian Federation” establishes that the restriction of passive suffrage associated with permanent or predominant residence in a certain territory (residency requirement) is not allowed by federal law or the law of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation. Earlier (June 24, 1997), a similar decision (on the “Khakass case”) was issued by the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation.
Elections to the legislative bodies of the subjects of the Federation are held on the basis of various systems of counting votes. There are both the majoritarian system of the absolute majority (single-mandate constituencies formed on the basis of a single norm of representation), and the proportional system. Mixed systems are also very common, when one part of the deputies is elected on the basis of a majoritarian system, and the other on the basis of a proportional system. For example, elections to the Moscow Regional Duma are held in single-member constituencies, in which 25 deputies are elected. In the Sverdlovsk Region, one of the chambers of the Legislative Assembly, the Regional Duma, is elected on the basis of a system of proportional representation in a general regional constituency, and elections to the second chamber, the House of Representatives, are carried out on the basis of a majoritarian system of relative majority in constituencies in the region. These are the features inherent in the various electoral systems of the subjects of the Federation for the election of deputies of representative bodies of state power.
Elections of heads of administrations (governors, presidents, heads of executive power) are held in two main forms: by the population itself and by the legislative bodies of the constituent entities of the Federation. The system of electing heads of administrations by the population in many respects resembles the system of electing the President of the Russian Federation: it provides for the election of the candidate who received more than half of the votes from the legally established minimum of voters who took part in the elections, the possibility of a second round of voting, etc.
The procedure for preparing and holding elections, with slight differences, includes the same stages that are established by federal law. This is, first of all, the appointment of elections and the formation of republican (territorial, regional, etc.) election commissions, which are usually assigned to the head of the administration (president, governor) of the subject of the Federation.
Precinct election commissions are formed, which compile lists of voters. The nomination and registration of candidates practically do not fundamentally differ from the federal level, although the number of required signatures is, of course, less. Election campaigning is regulated by special acts in order to ensure equal opportunities for each candidate and electoral association to use the media. According to the general rule corresponding to the federal level, voting takes place and the results of voting are determined.
Elections to local self-government bodies are regulated by both federal laws and legislative acts of the constituent entities of the Federation. In accordance with the Federal Law “On the General Principles of Organization of Local Self-Government in the Russian Federation” dated August 28, 1995, the representative body of local self-government and the head of the municipality are elected by citizens on the basis of universal, equal and direct suffrage by secret ballot in accordance with federal laws and laws subjects of the Russian Federation. The federal law approved the General Provisions on Elections to Local Self-Government Bodies, on the basis of which the subjects of the Federation introduced specific electoral systems at the local level. Thus, the right to be elected to local self-government bodies (passive suffrage) is granted to citizens from the age of 18, and the date of elections to these bodies is determined by the state authorities of the constituent entities of the Federation. Reduced deadlines have been introduced for the publication of the date of the elections - from 2 months to 2 weeks before the election day. To conduct elections, the heads of the local administration form only a territorial (district) election commission and precinct commissions, and to conduct elections of the lowest levels (street, small settlement, etc.) - only one commission. Usually, at least 25 percent of those registered are required to recognize an election as valid, and the candidate who receives more votes than his opponent is considered elected (majority system of relative majority). Non-alternative voting is also allowed, but in this case, the only candidate for his election must receive more than half of the votes of the voters who took part in the elections. If the subject of the Russian Federation has not adopted a law on elections to local self-government bodies, then the procedure for such elections is regulated by the Federal Law “On Ensuring the Constitutional Rights of Citizens of the Russian Federation to Elect and Be Elected to Local Self-Government Bodies” dated November 26, 1996 and the Temporary Regulations attached to it .
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