MOSCOW, May 31 (Itar-Tass) — Legislative amendments allowing self-nominated candidates to run for Moscow mayor will be adopted, Moscow City Duma Chairman Vladimir Platonov said after a meeting with Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin on Thursday.
“I think these amendments will be adopted because not only the opinion of the mayor has coincided with the opinion of the Moscow City Duma deputies, but the political situation in the city and other Russian regions warrants this,” Platonov said.
At a meeting with MPs earlier in the day, Sobyanin suggested that the draft law on mayoral elections in Moscow be amended to allow self-nominees to run for this post. “There are only candidates from parties now. Given the new party law increasing the number of parties, this is probably correct. But it is not only about possibilities. It is also about ideology. And this is important too,” he said.
“The post of Moscow mayor is less political and more managerial and administrative as 99 percent of the city mayor’s tasks concern every-day and down-to-earth matters such as road construction, utilities, water supply, etc. I think it would be appropriate to allow not only party candidates but also self-nominated candidates to run for mayor,” Sobyanin said.
In addition, he suggested lowering the “threshold” for votes a candidate will be required to collect in his support in local self-government bodies from 10 percent now to 6 percent.
Earlier, the City Duma passed the first reading of amendments to Moscow’s Charter and election code, which bring mayoral elections in line with federal legislation. According to them, the Moscow mayor will be nominated by a political party and elected for five years. This makes it impossible to self-nominees to run for the post.
A mayoral candidate will need the support of 10 percent of deputies in local legislative bodies and elected heads of no less than three-fourths of municipalities.