Mayors of regional capitals will be chosen at the suggestion of governors
After the entry into force of the new Federal Law on Local Self -Government (MSU), the mayors of the capitals of all the constituent entities of the Russian Federation will be elected according to the new procedure: deputies of municipal parliaments from among the candidates proposed by governors. According to Kommersant, the first novelty should be used in Cherkessk, Stavropol, Blagoveshchensk, Orle, Arkhangelsk and Nizhny Novgorod already in 2025.
New basic law “On the General Principles of the MSU organization in a unified system of public power”, which was signed by the president on March 20, provides for four options for electing the mayor: in direct elections, deputies of the municipal parliament from their composition, deputies from the number of candidates selected by a special commission, as well as deputies from among the candidates proposed by the governor. The first three are provided for by the old one, that is, the current Law on MSU. In most administrative centers, a competitive model is used, and direct elections are preserved only in four capitals – Yakutsk, Khabarovsk, Anadire (Chukotka) and Abakan (Khakassia).
The last option, within the framework of which the head of the region determines, is a novelty and has not yet been used anywhere. However, it was he, judging by the final edition of the adopted law, will be introduced in all regional capitals without exception.
So, according to Art. 88 of the published document, “the head of the municipality, whose territory includes a settlement, which is the administrative center of the subject, is elected by the representative body of the municipality from among the candidates represented by the highest official of the subject”. The order provides that the governor must submit to the choice of deputies at least two candidates. At the same time, it can offer options to the head of the region to a limited circle of persons: parliamentary parties, as well as parties that went to the local Legislative Assembly, the Council of Municipal Education and the Public Chamber of the subject, as well as the All -Russian Association for the Development of Local Self -Government.
It is interesting that in its original form, the law developed by the heads of specialized committees of the State Duma and the Federation Council Pavel Krasheninnikov and Andrei Klishas and adopted in the first reading back in 2022, did not provide for such a short story. There is only one idea for the capitals, the “governor” option was proposed at the end of last year by deputies of the City Duma of Yakutsk (see “Kommersant” dated October 16, 2024). However, Pavel Krasheninnikov then rejected this proposal, saying “Kommersant” that the Yakut deputies can “choose such a method in their law.” As a result, the Mountain Duma really followed the independent way of canceling direct elections, initiating the consideration of this issue in the State Assembly (Parliament) of the Republic.
But, as it turned out, the Yakut initiative did not pass without a trace for the Federal Law.
Already in November, before the second reading, the authors of the document took into account the received proposal (according to the amendments table, the Parliament of the Komi made a similar idea) and formulated a new article. In the final, third reading, the document was approved by the State Duma on March 5. Neither the Communist Party, nor the “new people” who regularly advocate the return of direct elections of mayors in large cities, paid attention to this short story.
The new law will enter into force after 90 days from the date of publication, that is, June 19. From this moment on, the “governor’s” version will be required to switch in all regional capitals – not only those four where direct elections are still preserved, but also in 61, where the mayors are chosen in the competition.
According to Kommersant, the first novelty will be supposed to apply the deputies of Cherkessk (Karachay-Cherkessia) and Stavropol (Stavropol Territory), since the powers of the mayors there Alexei Baskayev and Ivan Ulyanchenko expire in June.
Accordingly, the elections of new mayors will be able to pass only according to the « governor’s » version. Following in July, the cadence of the head of Blagoveshchensk (Amur Region) Oleg Imameev expires. Also this year, the powers of the mayors of the eagle, Arkhangelsk and Nizhny Novgorod are completed.
According to political scientist Vladimir Slavinov, the new election system excludes even potential disagreements between the regional and municipal authorities, which sometimes happen during the “misfires” of the competitive model: “This is a fuse from excess conflicts and a strengthening factor for any governor, since only its creature can become the mayor of the capital.”
