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United Russia to discuss idea of non-party upper house members

In an interview published on Thursday Speaker of the Federation Council Valentina Matviyenko suggested that the upper house should be outside parties

MOSCOW, November 3 (Itar-Tass) —— The United Russia Party may start debating the idea of Speaker of the Federation Council upper house of parliament Valentina Matviyenko that members of the house should be outside parties, Andrei Vorobyev, the head of the Central Executive Committee of the party, told reporters on Thursday.

In an interview published on Thursday Speaker of the Federation Council Valentina Matviyenko suggested that the upper house should be outside parties. The Federation Council is formed of representatives of regions, she noted. “We must be objective making decisions. We should not be oriented at some or other political stands,” she said. “No one can prohibit a member of the upper house having sympathies for some or other party. But I believe that it, perhaps, should be proposed that membership in some or other party should be suspended for the duration of a person being an MP. This would make for a more objective approach to the existing tasks,” Matviyenko said.

Commenting on this remark of the Federation Council speaker, Vorobyev said he personally did not think that party membership interferes with work in the upper house. “I was a member of the Federation Council myself and, communicating with members of the house, I have never heard anyone complaining about party memberships being much hindrance to work,” he said.

At the same time he acknowledged that there may be some reason in Matviyenko’s proposal. “If this idea takes on, it should, certainly, be discussed in the party, at the level of party clubs. This is a theme worth debating,” he said.