Heads of villages and settlements will not be included in the district Council

Heads of villages and settlements, who are also chairmen of village or settlement Councils, will not automatically be included in the district Council of people's deputies after the autumn elections. The Supreme Council deputies supported this innovation at the plenary session on June 9 in the final reading. Thus, the norms of the Constitution, the Electoral Code, as well as two laws were adjusted: "On local authorities, local self-government and state administration in the PMR" and "On the status of people's deputies of local Councils of people's deputies of the PMR".

The authors of the amendments were a group of deputies of the Supreme Council of the PMR; the legislations were worked on by deputies and specialists of the Committee on Legislation, Protection of Rights and Freedoms of Citizens. The adoption of the initiatives in the final reading taking into account the amendments was commented on by the Deputy Chairman of the Committee Gregory Dyachenko.

The powers of the heads of villages and settlements in the district Council will be retained until the Unified Voting Day, scheduled for November 30, 2025. Thus, after the elections, the number of deputies of the district Council will be optimized, since it will no longer include the heads of villages, settlements – chairmen of village, settlement Councils. The interests of residents in the district Council will be represented by those deputies for whom voters vote.

Number of deputies

The amendments clarify that the Council of People's Deputies of the satellite city is formed in the amount of 13-15 deputies in addition. The number of deputies of village Councils has been optimized. It is no longer 15, but 11 – the maximum number of deputies to be elected from villages with up to 3 thousand voters. A maximum of up to 13 deputies can be elected now in villages with over 3 thousand voters, where a maximum of 21 deputies could be elected. Currently, the total number of village council deputies in the republic is 716 people and as a result of the adoption of the package of legislations, it will be optimized. Optimization of the number of deputies at all levels was carried out earlier, in 2015-2020. For example, the number of deputies of the Supreme Council was reduced from 43 to 33 deputies in 2020.

What time will the voting begin from?

The Electoral Code, taking into account the amendments, will prescribe the voting time from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. According to the current version, voting at polling stations began at 7 a.m. The time was changed at the request of members of the election commissions and taking into account the practice of Russia, where voting begins at 8 a.m. and lasts until 8 p.m.

Election financing

According to the adopted amendments, regular elections to local government bodies and local self-government, which are held simultaneously with the elections of deputies of the Supreme Council, will be financed from the republican budget. Until now, funds for elections to local Councils were allocated from city and district budgets. This innovation will reduce the burden on local budgets in the context of a budget deficit.

Optimization of the electoral process

It is possible not to form a precinct election commission if the elections are held only at one polling station. The powers of the precinct election commission will be assigned to the relevant territorial election commission at the same time. This decision will allow small villages to form one territorial commission instead of two commissions (territorial and precinct), which will lead to significant budget savings.

The adopted changes in addition will allow election commissions to take photos and videos of the process of receiving and checking documents of candidates, meetings of working groups and the commission. Similar regulations have recently been in force in Russia.

Requirements for heads of villages, settlements

It has also been clarified that the head of a village or settlement cannot simultaneously be the President of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, a member of the Government, a deputy of the Supreme Council, a judge, a prosecutor, hold another government position in the executive bodies of state power and administration, in judicial authorities, be in the civil service, and also cannot simultaneously be the head, chief accountant of commercial organizations established by the executive bodies of state power.

The adopted amendments to 4 laws, including the Constitution, are aimed at optimizing the electoral process in Pridnestrovie and saving budget funds for holding elections in general. The new provisions of the Constitution of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic will enter into force after 1 month after adoption by the Supreme Council of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic.