MOSCOW, September 24 (Itar-Tass) — The United Russia party congress has unanimously approved an election programme.
State Duma first deputy speaker Oleg Morozov urged the delegates to consider the speeches by President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin “the party’s election programme”.
“In compliance with the existing regulations, these speeches should be filed under an election document of the party, submitted to the bodies of power and made public,” he said.
Morozov referred to Putin’s speech in which the Russian prime minister formulated priorities for the development of the country.
The election programme has been approved by direct vote.
President Dmitry Medvedev said he is ready to head the government in 2012.
“A new government should be formed in our country, and if we succeed in doing this, I’m ready to head the government and work for the benefit of the country,” Medvedev said at the United Russia party congress on Saturday.
Earlier, Medvedev urged members of the United Russia party to support incumbent Prime Minister Vladimir Putin at the 2012 presidential elections. The congress’ delegates upheld this proposal.
“I’d like to set myself up for the serious and responsible work. If we’ve made it, we’ll have a modern, creative and effective parliament and we’ll elect our candidate and not anyone other,” Medvedev said.
Medvedev headed the list of candidates in the parliamentary elections scheduled for December 4.
“I’m practically sure that we’ll succeed in achieving our goals,” he said. “Our task is not to turn back from our path and to be effective, honest and open, sometimes more severe in order to effect the desired result,” Medvedev said.
The Russian president also said he is ready work in a “renovated government” to be formed by the United Russia party.
“Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin as the party chairman has just officially addressed me and the congress with a proposal to head the list of United Russia,” Medvedev told congress delegates. “Sure, this is a responsible and very serious proposal. I accept it.”
“If the party wins the elections, and I’m sure of this in actual fact, if we work as well as in the past, I’m ready to continue actual activities to modernise our economy, to raise living standards of our people and to build a modern legal state,” Medvedev said.
He said the renovated government, which would be formed by the winning party, “should be preoccupied with practical course for modernising our life”.
“Taking into account my agreement to head the party list, I believe it correct to back Putin’s candidacy for the post of the country’s president,” Medvedev said.
“What we have proposed the congress is a well-thought-out decision. Even more, we discussed, indeed, this version of developments at the time when our comradely union was formed,” Medvedev said.
“The passing years have convinced us, and I hope most of our citizens of the correct nature of our strategy and efficiency of our model of administration,” the president claimed.
“The fact that we did not announce long enough in public our position till this time – I hope that you will understand us, as will our citizens – this is a question of political expediency and pursuance of the law of political genre in our country,” the president said.
In turn, Putin confirmed that “an understanding what to do in future” between him and Medvedev was “reached long ago, several years back”.
The congress also approved the list of candidates to run for the State Duma. The list was approved by 582 delegates with one against; four ballot papers were invalid; there were no abstentions. There is only one name in its federal part – President Dmitry Medvedev.
The list is subdivided into 80 regional groups. Nine of them are headed by vice-premiers and federal ministers; and the most others by heads of regions.
The United Russia list includes the following members of the federal government: first vice-premiers Viktor Zubkov (Volgograd Region) and Igor Shuvalov (Primorye Territory), vice-premiers Alexander Zhukov (Kaliningrad Region), Dmitry Kozak (St. Petersburg), Igor Sechin (Stavropol Territory) and Vyacheslav Volodin (Samara Region).
Besides, in Krasnoyarsk Territory the list is headed by Minister for Emergency Situation Sergei Shoigu. In the Perm Region it is led by Minister of Natural Resources Yuri Trutnev. In the Leningrad Region Russian presidential chief of staff Sergei Naryshkin heads the list.