24.11.08

The State Duma on Friday approved in the final, third reading Dmitry Medvedev's amendments to the Constitution extending the tenure of office of the head of state and of the legislators from four years to six and five respectively. The Cabinet of Ministers will have to present annual accounts of its performance to parliament.

As he addressed the Federal Assembly with a state-of-the-nation address on November 5, Medvedev, among other things, said the terms of office of the head of state and of the State Duma members should be extended by two years and one year respectively. So far, the Russians have elected the president and the legislators each four years.

The president pointed out that the proposed changes were not a reform, but fine-tuning of the Constitution, and "any reformist zeal in relation to the Fundamental Law is utterly out of place."

"We are accustomed to thinking in broader terms," the president said, as he explained the need for amending the duration of the presidency and of the lawmakers' powers. He acknowledged that he gave thought to this first time several years ago.

At the next polls the president will be elected for six years, and the State Duma, for five. The presidential election in Russia is due in 2011, and the parliamentary ones, in 2012.

The new rules will be applicable only to the next election cycle in Russia, and not today's president or the State Duma. At the same time the current prime minister will have to present his account to parliament.

Duma Speaker Boris Gryzlov speculated that Vladimir Putin would address the legislators to brief them on the Cabinet's work as early as February.

While the bills obliging the Cabinet to report to the State Duma were approved unanimously and without much debate, the law extending the tenures of office sparked a heated discussion. The Communists came out against the idea as such. In the end all of the 57 Communist deputies voted against. The votes in support of the amendments totaled 392, and there were no abstentions.

The amendments will now be submitted for consideration to the Federation Council, which is to give it a go-ahead by a three-quarters majority. The outcome of the voting arouses no doubts.

In the message to the Federal Assembly Medvedev insisted that the point at issue is not a constitutional reform, but an adjustment of the Constitution, some very important, but not fundamental amendments, which by no means alter the political or legal nature of the existing institutions.

Putin supported the president, saying that the proposed amendments were devoid of what he described as "personal dimension", and would certainly contribute to democratic processes in the country.

In the meantime, sociologists have found out that the Russian people by and large have nothing against the amendments to the Constitution and agree with the extension of the presidential and parliamentary terms.

As an opinion poll by the national public opinion studies center VCIOM on November 15-16 found, of those polled in 140 cities and villages of Russia's 42 constituent territories more than 56 percent support Dmitry Medvedev's proposal for a longer term of the president and the Federal Assembly, 29 percent opposed the idea, and 15 made no comment.

Two-thirds of Russians (67 percent) believe that amendments to the Constitution are permissible in principle.

According to analysts, tighter control of the parliament and government would somehow counter-balance in the public space the extension of the presidential term.

Also, Medvedev in his message declared a reform of the Federation Council, the upper house of parliament. From now on the FC will be formed "only of persons elected to the representative bodies of power and of members of local self-government bodies of the corresponding territory of the federation."

This solves a two-fold problem. The Federation Council has always been criticized for being a house of parliament uniting members of the executive authorities, which is a violation of the principle of power sharing. The second problem is a political one. The Federation Council has been a real safe haven for retired politicians and civil servants, which bred corruption and harmed the general level of competence of the upper house.

Against this background the need for the residence qualification is no longer necessary, and it will be canceled.

One more important initiative concerns the exclusive right of parties that have gained a majority in the regional legislatures to approach the president with proposals for appointing this or that candidate as the region's governor. This gives United Russia a far stronger foothold, for it controls most of the regional legislative assemblies, and it reduces the role of presidential representatives.

Smaller parties that may collect five to seven percent of the votes in the parliamentary elections will be granted one or two seats in the State Duma. As a matter of fact, this is a step towards reducing the qualification hurdle, although Medvedev said the question is not on the agenda yet.

Dmitry Badovsky, a deputy director of the Social Systems Institute, believes that the constitutional amendments are "a logical step that continues the reform of the political system."

"It would be wrong to say that this package of measures is tailored for Putin," Politkom.ru quotes him as saying.

This package of measures began to be cooked a long while ago, it was discussed back when Putin was president himself, says the political scientist.

"In this case we have before us clear continuity and an evolution of the political system laid down during the Putin presidencies," he said.

The very instance of amendments to the Constitution is an extremely important political event, says political scientist Tatyana Stanovaya. It is worth recalling that throughout his first seven years in office - from 2000 through 2007 - Putin invariably and firmly refrained from amending the Constitution. He argued the fundamental law should stay as it is. However, a year ago, interviewed by G8 correspondents, Putin for the first time said he had changed his opinion. Apparently, it was then that the decision concerning the current amendments was made, Stanovaya said.

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Source: Itar-Tass