Tiraspol, 11 May. /Novosti Pridnestrovya/. MPs insist on reducing the minimum voter turnout at the presidential election. According to the current law, the voter turnout must exceed 50% so that the presidential election is recognised accomplished. At the same time, the minimum turnout at parliamentary and local elections is set at 25%. The Supreme Council proposes to adopt common «legitimacy percentage» for both people's deputies and the president.
«It is proposed to state that in order to recognise the election of the president of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic accomplished, the minimum turnout must exceed 25% of registered voters at the moment of closing polling stations," reads the explanatory note to the bill.
With 38 lawmakers for and only two against the reduction of the minimum turnout at the presidential election, the bill has passed today its first reading.
According to the authors of the bill and other MPs advocating its approval, the minimum turnout should be reduced because of a notable outflow of population from Pridnestrovie. Lawmakers believe that many citizens may miss the December election of the president as they will be away from the country. They fear in this respect lest the presidential election accomplish due to insufficient turnout.
«It is possible that the upcoming election of the President of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic scheduled for the end of 2016 may not be realised due to a low turnout of less than 50%," underscores the explanatory note.
In order to keep away from casting doubt on the legitimacy of the presidential elections, it is necessary to reduce the minimum turnout," believes one of the authors of the bill, Igor Buga.
The chair of the Central Election Commission, Yelena Gorodetskaya, has also backed the reduction of the minimum turnout. According to her, there are 360,000 voters today in Pridnestrovie. 25% of the aggregate number of voters makes 90,000 citizens. At the same time, Yelena Gorodetskaya noted that the turnout at the Supreme Council and local elections, which took place on 29 November 2015, had not exceeded 50%.
«It should be mentioned that a reduced turnout does not affect the number of voters," she explained, noting that the 25% minimum turnout is set at the presidential election in Nagorny Karabakh.
The president's representatives, in the meantime, think that the reduced minimum turnout is not possible as it brings into question the legitimacy of the presidential election. According to the minister of justice, Olga Zvarych, since Pridnestrovie is a presidential republic, «the President must be elected by the majority of the country's population.»
At the same time, the authors' fears about a potential low turnout are not based on actual data and are subjective, the minister explained. She highlighted the fact that information about the number of voters residing in the country at the moment of voting should be taken into consideration when compiling the register of voters.
«We insist on retaining the 50% minimum turnout," said the justice minister, noting that the number of voters at presidential elections has always exceeded their number at parliamentary elections. «The level of the civic awareness of our population gives confidence that the turnout will be higher than 50%," said Zvarych.
A number of deputies, in turn, believe that the proportion of apolitical population in Pridnestrovie is rather high, and in case of a failure to reach a 50% landmark the presidential election may be recognised unaccomplished. Therefore, according to lawmakers, this will abuse the rights of the voters who will come to polling stations.
«Some go to polls, and some don't. The reduced minimum turnout protects my right to choose," said deputy Vasilyev. «Don't you think?» he asked the minister.
«I don't," answered Zvarych. «Our common task is to enable as many registered voters to come to polls as it is possible," the minister believes.
«It is not about legitimacy. We are speaking about what we consider admissible from the point of view of democracy and popular vote," she said.
Deputy Andrey Sipchenko also argued against the reduction of the minimum turnout at the presidential election. According to him, citizens are losing interest in elections due to the discrediting of power by the Supreme Council.
«We venture to discredit power. This reduces a turnout… The policy of discrediting public authorities is flawed; the Supreme Council has to stop it. If public authorities are not discredited, citizens will go to polls," said Sipchenko, adding that the same draft law on reduction of the minimum turnout had been rejected by the previous Supreme Council four years ago.
Igor Sipchenko's traditional opponent in the parliament, Galina Antyfeyeva, said that a lot of time has elapsed since then and it is time to revive the idea of reducing the turnout at the presidential election. Antyufeyeva also cited the example of the Russian Federation where the minimum turnout is not determined.
The minister of justice believes that appealing to the Russian experience is speculative.
«When it is convenient for us, we speak about the harmonisation, and when it isn't, we refer to our specifics," explained Olga Zvarych.
«You mean yourself?» asked Antyfeyeva the minister.
«Alongside you, Galina," replied Zvarych.
It should be noted that 78% of voters took part in the 1991 presidential election. In 1996 the president was elected by 57.1% of voters, by 62% in 2001 and by 66.1% in 2006. During the last presidential election 58% of citizens came to polls in the first round and 52% in the second.
