Pre Election Year: Improvement of Electoral Legislation

Members of the Supreme Council continued to work on improving electoral legislation. A number of fundamental changes passed the second reading, the others were adopted in the first by legislators.

In particular, 29 amendments that have been previously prepared to the Law "On Amendments and Addendum to the Electoral Code of PMR" passed the second reading, 17 participants of the amendments were rejected by the plenary meeting.

The principal changes related to the procedure of collecting signatures in support of one candidate or another. As chairman of parliamentary committee on legislation Galina Antyufeeva noted in an interview after the meeting, there were many cases during the last election campaign where discrepancies in completing the subscription lists were found, became the reason for refusal of registration of a candidate. Such facts were perceived as the use of administrative resources.

The practice of election campaigns of past years suggests applying unfair competitors elements of "black" political technologies. This, in particular, the deliberate use during elections of candidates - "twins" namesakes. However, today there is no legal means to counter this vicious practice. Similar cases have been recorded during the last election campaign in Bendery, where the electoral district №4 as candidates for deputies were registered at three candidates with one or consonant surname. It's disorienting a part of the electorate. In this regard, a group of deputies - Gregory Dyachenko, Alexander Korshunov, Valery Kulakli, Yuri Sporish - acted as initiators of change of certain provisions of the Electoral Code.

It is also worth noting that deputies suggestions of parliamentarians Oleg Khorzhan and Gregory Dyachenko, that they have made on the basis of experience as international observers for the parliamentary elections in South Ossetia found no support. They concerned the possibility of putting special stamp in the passport of voters who completed the voting procedure, to discourage attempts to re-vote, as well as pre-posting the list of voters at polling stations for information. Proposals were not supported by colleagues deputies. The motivation of such a decision based on the fact that the passport - this is not the document that can be marked with records or stamps, not provided for by law. Passport Act provides for a comprehensive list of different passport data.