Lessons Uganda can pick from Russia’s elections
On December 2, the Russian Federation will hold its legislative elections. At stake are the 450 seats in the State Duma (Gosudarstvennaya Duma), the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia (legislature).
By Fredrick Kasozi
On December 2, the Russian Federation will hold its legislative elections. At stake are the 450 seats in the State Duma (Gosudarstvennaya Duma), the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia (legislature). However, Uganda has a few lessons to pick from Russia’s elections as it will be exclusively assigned from party — list proportional representation under a new law adopted in 2005 on the initiative of President Vladimir Putin.
Putin claims the elections will strengthen the party system by reducing the number of parties in the Duma. In the previous elections, half of the seats were filled using proportional representation and another half using the first-past-the-post system.
Under the new constitution, parties that are not represented in parliament have to prove their trustworthiness by either enlisting 200,000 potential voters or paying a bail of almost $2.5m (sh4b) compared to the sh8m presidential candidates pay in Uganda. Some critics have described the condition as brutal.
Western Europe has been criticising Russia for distancing itself from democracy, especially after Putin’s announcement at a United Russia congress that he had agreed to head the party’s election list. He said should United Russia win the polls and Russians elect a worthy person as president, he could become the prime minister.
But democracy is unique. Russian democracy should not necessarily be a replica of America’s or Britain. Why should, for instance, Uganda’s form of democracy — the individual merit system — be criticised and not the American system, where the winner of the popular vote does not necessarily become president?
Similarly, why should it be a legitimate move by Britain that recently changed the Prime Minister without elections and all conditions were provided for the Labour Party to stay in power? Just like Russia that has stood firm, Uganda can pick a leaf from there provided it works within the realms of the Constitution.
In Russia, of the 14 eligible parties, 11 have registered to participate in the elections. Seven parties opted for signatures, while three chose to pay the bail. They get the money back only if the party wins 4% of the general vote. And it’s a real gamble.
The most popular party in Russia, the United Russia, supports Putin’s policies. Other parties expected to cross the 7% threshold include the new Fair Russia party, led by Sergei Mironov and the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, which also favours Putin’s policies. The largest opposition party is the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, which saw its share of the vote half between 1999 and 2003. The liberal democratic opposition will be represented by the free-market Union of Right Forces and the more socially-minded Yabloko.
In the wake of political discussions in Germany, Putin confirmed that under the Constitution, incumbent government officials have the right to elect and be elected. Likewise, Russians have the right to determine which of the government executives engage in politics and to what extent. No matter how keen Moscow’s western opponents are on describing its departure from democracy, it is all but keeping with the Constitution. This is a good lesson to Uganda that it should always not be swayed by western powers.
The principle of continuity of government, the president said, backed by the presidential elections, is not against the constitution or democracy.
With the participation of Putin, the elections will thus turn into a voting on whether to pursue the current course or change it. And a change, as experts say, is highly unlikely, given the circumstances. With documents submitted, signatures gathered and bails paid, the runners in the parliamentary race are over the first hurdle. Now they have less than two weeks to catch their breath before the next challenge — the start of the television campaigns.
The writer is a former student of Rostov State University, Russian Federation of Independent States and is a member of the Soyuzonline Club
On December 2, the Russian Federation will hold its legislative elections. At stake are the 450 seats in the State Duma (Gosudarstvennaya Duma), the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia (legislature). However, Uganda has a few lessons to pick from Russia’s elections as it will be exclusively assigned from party — list proportional representation under a new law adopted in 2005 on the initiative of President Vladimir Putin.
Putin claims the elections will strengthen the party system by reducing the number of parties in the Duma. In the previous elections, half of the seats were filled using proportional representation and another half using the first-past-the-post system.
Under the new constitution, parties that are not represented in parliament have to prove their trustworthiness by either enlisting 200,000 potential voters or paying a bail of almost $2.5m (sh4b) compared to the sh8m presidential candidates pay in Uganda. Some critics have described the condition as brutal.
Western Europe has been criticising Russia for distancing itself from democracy, especially after Putin’s announcement at a United Russia congress that he had agreed to head the party’s election list. He said should United Russia win the polls and Russians elect a worthy person as president, he could become the prime minister.
But democracy is unique. Russian democracy should not necessarily be a replica of America’s or Britain. Why should, for instance, Uganda’s form of democracy — the individual merit system — be criticised and not the American system, where the winner of the popular vote does not necessarily become president?
Similarly, why should it be a legitimate move by Britain that recently changed the Prime Minister without elections and all conditions were provided for the Labour Party to stay in power? Just like Russia that has stood firm, Uganda can pick a leaf from there provided it works within the realms of the Constitution.
In Russia, of the 14 eligible parties, 11 have registered to participate in the elections. Seven parties opted for signatures, while three chose to pay the bail. They get the money back only if the party wins 4% of the general vote. And it’s a real gamble.
The most popular party in Russia, the United Russia, supports Putin’s policies. Other parties expected to cross the 7% threshold include the new Fair Russia party, led by Sergei Mironov and the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, which also favours Putin’s policies. The largest opposition party is the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, which saw its share of the vote half between 1999 and 2003. The liberal democratic opposition will be represented by the free-market Union of Right Forces and the more socially-minded Yabloko.
In the wake of political discussions in Germany, Putin confirmed that under the Constitution, incumbent government officials have the right to elect and be elected. Likewise, Russians have the right to determine which of the government executives engage in politics and to what extent. No matter how keen Moscow’s western opponents are on describing its departure from democracy, it is all but keeping with the Constitution. This is a good lesson to Uganda that it should always not be swayed by western powers.
The principle of continuity of government, the president said, backed by the presidential elections, is not against the constitution or democracy.
With the participation of Putin, the elections will thus turn into a voting on whether to pursue the current course or change it. And a change, as experts say, is highly unlikely, given the circumstances. With documents submitted, signatures gathered and bails paid, the runners in the parliamentary race are over the first hurdle. Now they have less than two weeks to catch their breath before the next challenge — the start of the television campaigns.
The writer is a former student of Rostov State University, Russian Federation of Independent States and is a member of the Soyuzonline Club