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Medvedev pledges liberal reforms
Source: Agencies |
December 23, 2011, Friday
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President Dmitry Medvedev yesterday responded to the wave of protests over alleged fraud in recent elections, proposing reforms to liberalize Russia's political system, but sternly warning that the government will not allow "provocateurs and extremists" to threaten stability.
Medvedev said in his state-of-the nation address that Russia "needs democracy, not chaos" and that the government would strongly resist foreign pressure.
The statement follows massive rallies against alleged fraud in the December 4 vote, in which the ruling United Russia party lost a quarter of its seats. Opposition leaders and independent election monitors said United Russia only managed to retain its majority by fraud.
A rally in Moscow drew tens of thousands demanding a repeat vote and punishment for the officials involved in fraud. Another massive rally is set for this weekend.
The protests signaled that Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's bid to reclaim the presidency in March's election may not be as trouble-free as had been thought.
Both Putin and Medvedev firmly rejected the calls for a rerun, saying the vote reflected the people's will. Putin has accused the United States of fomenting the protests in order to weaken Russia, and Medvedev has rejected US criticism of the vote.
"We won't allow provocateurs and extremists to drag society into their adventures, and we won't allow any outside interference into our domestic affairs," Medvedev said yesterday.
While defending the vote results, Putin has suggested loosening the tight controls on Russia's political life he introduced during his two presidential terms in 2000-2008.
He said last week he would support easing the draconian rules of registration for political parties and restoring the direct elections of governors he abolished years ago. Putin added, however, that the president would retain the power to approve gubernatorial candidates.
Medvedev repeated the pledge to return to direct elections of governors and spelled out Putin's promise to ease registration rules for political parties. He said that a group of 500 people representing more than half of Russia's provinces could register a party - currently a party must have at least 45,000 members.
Medvedev also proposed reducing the number of signatures a candidate must collect to get on the presidential ballot from 2 million to 300,000.
He also promised to ease rigid state control over TV.
The opposition, however, would only be able to take advantage of the changes in the next election cycle.
Boris Nemtsov, an opposition leader, said that Medvedev's proposals were welcome but insufficient, adding that Saturday's rally will continue to push for a repeat election.
Medvedev said in his state-of-the nation address that Russia "needs democracy, not chaos" and that the government would strongly resist foreign pressure.
The statement follows massive rallies against alleged fraud in the December 4 vote, in which the ruling United Russia party lost a quarter of its seats. Opposition leaders and independent election monitors said United Russia only managed to retain its majority by fraud.
A rally in Moscow drew tens of thousands demanding a repeat vote and punishment for the officials involved in fraud. Another massive rally is set for this weekend.
The protests signaled that Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's bid to reclaim the presidency in March's election may not be as trouble-free as had been thought.
Both Putin and Medvedev firmly rejected the calls for a rerun, saying the vote reflected the people's will. Putin has accused the United States of fomenting the protests in order to weaken Russia, and Medvedev has rejected US criticism of the vote.
"We won't allow provocateurs and extremists to drag society into their adventures, and we won't allow any outside interference into our domestic affairs," Medvedev said yesterday.
While defending the vote results, Putin has suggested loosening the tight controls on Russia's political life he introduced during his two presidential terms in 2000-2008.
He said last week he would support easing the draconian rules of registration for political parties and restoring the direct elections of governors he abolished years ago. Putin added, however, that the president would retain the power to approve gubernatorial candidates.
Medvedev repeated the pledge to return to direct elections of governors and spelled out Putin's promise to ease registration rules for political parties. He said that a group of 500 people representing more than half of Russia's provinces could register a party - currently a party must have at least 45,000 members.
Medvedev also proposed reducing the number of signatures a candidate must collect to get on the presidential ballot from 2 million to 300,000.
He also promised to ease rigid state control over TV.
The opposition, however, would only be able to take advantage of the changes in the next election cycle.
Boris Nemtsov, an opposition leader, said that Medvedev's proposals were welcome but insufficient, adding that Saturday's rally will continue to push for a repeat election.
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