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A Just Russia demands verification of legitimacy of Moscow authorities

The party is also concerned about the number of Moscow City Duma deputies

MOSCOW, May 22 (Itar-Tass) —— State Duma Vice-Speaker Nikolai Levichev (A Just Russia) demands that the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office must verify the legitimacy of Moscow authorities.

He signed two inquiries to the Prosecutor General’s Office at a Tuesday press conference with regard to Moscow authorities’ actions in the attachment of new lands to the city. “The first inquiry is about self-government in Moscow in the city enlargement, and the second concerns legitimacy of the city authorities,” he said.

A Just Russia claims that municipal deputies have 42 powers in the Moscow region and only 15 in Moscow and the correlation will not change after the city is enlarged. “I request checking Moscow Law No56 for constitutionality,” Levichev said.

The party is also concerned about the number of Moscow City Duma deputies. The city population will grow by 250,000 with the attachment of new areas, but these people will not have their representatives in the Moscow City Duma, Levichev said.

Moscow City Duma Speaker Vladimir Platonov said earlier that they would not hold additional elections in the city enlargement.

“A huge territory will be attached to Moscow but only 250,000 people live there,” he said, noting that each deputy in the Moscow City Duma represented 400,000 residents.

Effective laws say that the number of deputies in a regional legislative assembly must be proportionate to the number of deputies: from 15 to 50 deputies representing less than 500,00 voters, from 25 to 70 deputies representing 500,000 to 1,000,000 voters, from 35 to 90 deputies representing from 1,000,000 to 2,000,000 voters, and from 45 to 110 deputies representing over 2 million voters. Moscow – the largest constituent of the Russian Federation (over 7 million residents) – has 35 deputies in the City Duma. Amendments to the city charter approved in December 2010 enlarged the number of deputies to 45. The new rule will apply to the Moscow City Duma elected in 2014.

“We will enable residents of the attached territories to appeal to deputies of the Moscow City Duma,” Platonov said. “In fact, they will have double representation, as municipal authorities will stay intact in the attached districts.”

The Moscow city limits will grow on July 1 with 148,864 hectares from Varshavskoye Highway to Kiyevskoye Highway in the southwest to the Big Circular Railroad. The city area will incorporate 21 municipalities, including two town districts, 19 towns and villages and three uninhabited lands. The municipalities, which will be attached to Moscow, will retain their borders, names and powers. Also their government structure will not change, and people will continue to elect municipal heads.