MOSCOW, August 31 (Itar-Tass) — Deputies of the Sverdlovsk Legislative Assembly made a historic decision as they announced their voluntary dissolution. They will step out of power on December 1 only, but on December 4 along with elections to the State Duma, the region’s voters will choose their local deputies.
To the very last moment Sverdlovsk deputies would not make the decision about the dissolution, the Nezavisimaya Gazeta writes. Until Tuesday the region remained Russia’s only region with a two-chamber parliament, which united the Regional Duma and the Chamber of Representatives. On Tuesday, out of the 45 deputies of the Legislative Assembly, only two voted against the dissolution. “This is mere disrespect - not only for the legislative authority, but to the voters,” deputy from the Just Russia Party Igor Danilov, one of those who had voted against the dissolution, said. “People hoped, they believed in their votes, and what happens now: you buy a TV set with a two-year warranty and in a year’s time you are told – Sorry the warranty is over, go buy a new one.”
The Novye Izvestia quotes deputy of the Chamber of Representatives Viktor Sheptiy as saying that a two-chamber parliament “is an anachronism nowadays.” Perhaps, it was useful “in the period of development of democracy” and in the period of unification of regional legislation, but now it is hindrances decision-making for terms of discussions. “We need quick reaction,” he said. “We felt it during the crisis: it was necessary to make many regional decisions quickly, dynamically – about support for employment, about guarantees for enterprises.”