Collecting signatures to qualify for candidate registration: the same old story

by Arkady Lyubarev, PhD in Law and Biology, Expert in Election Law; Expert of Civil Initiatives Committee. Since 2013 - co-chairman of Movement 'Golos' Board

Unfortunately, my predictions come true. I have several times warned the CEC, as well as the public, that the requirement to collect signatures in order to qualify for registration of candidate running in single-member constituency can serve as threshold with the strongest candidates failing to surpass it.

At first it seemed that the CEC understood this. After the 26-27 May All-Russia meeting with the chairmen of the regional commissions, ‘Nezavisimaya Gazeta’ published a report. Please, find the excerpt below:

‘Particular attention was paid to the particular period of campaign, when election commissions received citizen signatures submitted by the candidate or party in support of their registration to fully qualify for the polls. As it turned out, the CEC had a lot of work to verify the signatures – once it was the main barrier to the opposition parties – carried out under more or less facile procedure. For example, finally the election commissions at all levels were instructed while verifying signatures to pay more attention to copies of passports or personal testimonies of citizens who signed in support of candidate or party.

We would like to remind that previously even the courts did not take it as an evidence - the expert report of MIA graphologists was more important than a personal testimony. At the moment, the CEC rules require that the parties are given not only a brief summary of the expert report, but also a detailed explanation of conclusions concerning the invalidated signatures. It seems that the issue of data inconsistency in various databases will be solved. Thus, the data of the Federal Migration Service, previously qualified as primary, now at least could be verified under a request. ‘

Later it turned out that nothing like that was provisioned in the CEC rules. All my proposals to initiate amendment to these rules (the title is very long, briefly - the ‘Procedure for verification of signatures in regional election commissions’) failed. Apparently, CEC thought that general declarations are sufficient enough.

Please, find the latest news from the ‘Komersant’ publication with the headline ‘Independent candidates submit voter signatures’. Journalists reports: ‘According to CEC, only four independent candidates were qualified for registration, no high-status personalities among them ... They are entrepreneurs Valery Borisov (76th constituency, Belgorod region), Mikhail Zernov (118th constituency, Moscow region) and Ivan Prohodtsev (220th constituency, Jewish Autonomous region), as well as deputy head of state agency Mikhail Ushakov (225th constituency, Khanty-Mansi Autonomous region)’. Among those whose submitted signatures were invalidated, the ex-mayor of Volgograd, Yevgeny Ishchenko and the former vice-governor of the Yaroslavl region, Mikhail Krupin.

It is a typical situation: the signature threshold easily filters out the lesser-known candidates, but the well-known politicians were ‘jammed’ and they are actually able to compete with the pro-government candidates.

According to the latest statistics published on CEC website, the same four independent candidates were registered. Thus 60 independent candidates have been already denied registration, as well as one candidate of ‘Great Fatherland Party’ and 7 candidates of the ‘Party of Future Parents’, who are required to qualify for registration of candidates by collecting signatures.

Another 63 independent candidates and 4 candidates of the ‘Party of Future Parents’ lost their status as nominated candidate, as they gave up on the electoral race and did not submit signatures to the regional election commission. Let me remind you 304 independent candidates and 57 non-privileged party candidates were nominated for the Election to the State Duma.

The information about the difficulties faced by independent candidates keeps flowing. In the same piece of news ‘Komersant’ refers to the difficulties faced by the leader of ‘Green Alliance’ Alexander Zakondyrin, municipal council member, who won the primaries in the Election to the Moscow City Duma. In Kostroma Region, the State Duma MP Roman Vanchugov as well faces some difficulties. In Karachaevo-Cherkessia some perplexities have arisen to the famous public figure, chairman of the Presidium of Russian Congress of Peoples of Caucasus, Aliy Totorkulov; however, lawyers are expecting to defend the validity of signatures in support of him.

Methods are basically the same: verification based on MIA database information, the conclusion of handwriting expert that the handwriting of a date differs from the voter's handwriting. Another method was tested last year: PEC members are hired for collecting signatures, as a candidate has no way to verify his/her identity. Whereas election commissions identify such violation and reject the signatures on this ground.

I am not aware of number of complaints on denied registration related to signatures received by CEC. So far, CEC has not yet addressed a single one. Moreover, I have serious doubts that CEC manages to cope with such a load of complaints. As a result, all its declarations concerning the competition remain empty words.

A question then arises: whether all the declarations concerning the prevention of fraud as well remain empty words?