Krasnodar, 13 August. Today our interviewee is Aleksei Chernenko, Chairman of the Krasnodar Regional Election Committee.
Q.: Presently most attention is riveted on the elections of the regional governor and Krasnodar City Duma. What other wielders of power will be elected on the single voting day, 13 September 2020?
A.: Currently there are 79 election campaigns of different levels, appointed on the single voting day. Apart from the campaigns mentioned by you, elections of the deputies of representative bodies of 38 municipal rayons and city constituencies, heads of 34 urban and rural settlements, and by-elections and reruns of the deputies of one urban constituency and five rural and urban settlements will be held.
Q.: Will the fact that the 13 September campaign combines the elections of the governor and Krasnodar City Duma anyhow affect the course of voting?
A.: Of course, such combination may result in certain difficulties. Say, voters will have to understand in which elections they take part and who they will be voting for. In Krasnodar, the voters will get three bulletins – two with the families of the candidates and the parties running for the seats in the City Duma, and one with the families of the runners for the regional governor’s office. There may be some difficulties for the members of the local election committees who will be working with the voters. They will have to be dealing with two lists of voters, and when the polling stations are closed to ascertain the results for two campaigns.
Q.: This time, the voting will begin several days before, and September 13 will be just the final day. Why was this mechanism introduced?
A.: Early voting will take place on September 11 and 12. The voters may come any time during the working hours of the local election committees. If they do not vote early, they will be able to do it on 13 September, 2020. The voting process during three days will ensure the observance of sanitary and epidemiological recommendations, which is so much important these days.
Q.: An idea of online voting was also announced. If adopted, will such process remain transparent?
A.: The new format is quite promising. First, it will be a possibility for the widest circle of voters to cast their vote wherever they will stay on the day of voting beyond their constituencies. Secondly, there is demand for such voting, because the role of digital technologies is growing in our lives, and they cannot keep away from such a dynamic sphere as the electoral process. The Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation is working on all aspects of introduction of remote electronic voting, including the issues of security and transparency. This is why such voting is being checked and introduced gradually – by implementing pilot projects in separate regions and for separate kinds of elections.
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