‘Golos’ suggested candidates for the posts of regional election officials to Russian CEC

The process of formation of regional election commissions runs at full speed. In the coming days, within the framework of renewal of the composition of regional election commissions, the Russian CEC will propose two members for each commission. Typically, the selected candidates must pass through the filter of regional authorities, aimed at strengthening the administrative control over the regional commissions and, in fact, backed by the Russian CEC.

Following the statutory procedures, the movement ‘Golos’ submitted a list of candidates for the posts of regional election officials in Moscow city, Moscow, Samara and Chelyabinsk regions to the Russian CEC. The citizen observers addressed the Russian Central Election Commission suggesting to support the proposed candidates and to ensure their presence in the selection process.

We are convinced that the professional election officials, independent from regional administration, will enhance the openness and collegiality of their work, as well as accountability to citizens.

Candidate for the post of election official in Moscow City Election Commission

Andrey Yurevich Buzin

Photo: Andrei Buzin / svoboda.org

Andrei Buzin holds a PhD in Law. He is a well-known election expert, the author of academic papers on electoral issues and popular benefits for the electoral subjects. He has an extensive experience as an election official:

• 1993, Member in an advisory capacity of district election commission for the Election to the State Duma and Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation;
• 1995-2003, Member in a decision-making capacity of district election commission No. 204 (Moscow city) for the Election to the State Duma;
• 1997-2001, Chairman of district election commission No. 24 for the Election to Moscow City Duma;
• 2001-2003, 2005-2009, 2013, Member in an advisory capacity of the Moscow city election commission;
• 2004, Member in an advisory capacity of the Central Election Commission of Russian Federation;
• 2004, Member in a decision-making capacity of precinct election commission (Central Chertanov district);
• 2000-2013, Member in an advisory capacity of different territorial election commissions and municipal election commissions;
• 2016, Member in an advisory capacity of the election commission of Moscow region.

In 2010-2015, he was also a member of the non-governmental Council for Scientific and Methodological Coordination under the CEC of Russia.

Candidate for the post of election official in Moscow region

Andrei Viacheslavovich Skorokhod

Photo: Andrei Skorokhod /from the archive of A. Skorohod

Andrei Skorokhod is an election expert. He has an extensive experience as an election official:

• 2012, Member in a decision-making capacity of the precinct election commission No. 1264 (Moscow, Vykhino-Zhulebino);
• 2012-2015, Member in an advisory capacity of different precinct election commissions and election observer in different PECs in various elections held in Yaroslavl, Pereslavl (Yaroslavl region), Krymsk (Krasnodar region), Kasimov (Ryazan region), Solnechnogorsk (Moscow region), Zhukovsky (Moscow region), Nerehta (Kostroma region);
• 2013, Member in a decision-making capacity of the precinct election commission No. 17 (Moscow region, Balashikha);
• 2014-2015, Member in an advisory capacity of the territorial election commission in Balashikha city (Moscow region);
• 2016, Member in a decision-making capacity of the municipal election commission in Barvihinskaya (Moscow region).

He has international experience in election observation and is familiar with national regulations of elections in other countries (he has observed 6 elections in Belarus, Ukraine, Poland and France).

In 2013-2015, he was also a coordinator of the election observation association ‘Sonar’ in the Moscow region. Currently he is the co-coordinator of election observation association ‘Citizen Observer’ in Moscow region.

In 2014, he received a public welfare medal ‘Defender of Free Elections’.

Candidate for the post of election official in Samara region

Lyudmila Gavrilovna Kuzmina

Photo: Lyudmila Kuzmina / from the archives of the movement ‘Golos’

In her region, Lyudmila Kuzmina is well-known among citizen election experts; since 1991, she has been a longtime member of election commissions of different levels; since 2000, longtime coordinator of citizen election observation of the ‘GOLOS’ association (since 2013, the movement ‘Golos’):

• 1991, Member in a decision-making capacity of precinct election commission for the Presidential Elections;
• 1993, Member in a decision-making capacity of precinct election commission for the Election to the State Duma and the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation;
• 1995, 1999 and 2003, Member in a decision-making capacity nominated by the political parties DCR and SPS to precinct election commission for the Election to the Russian State Duma;
• 1995-2000, Member in a decision-making capacity of territorial election commission nominated by the party ‘Yabloko’;
• 5.       2001-2003 and 2005-2007, Member in a decision-making capacity of the territorial election commission in Kuibyshev district, Samara city;
• 2008, Member in an advisory capacity of the election commission of Samara region, nominated by the candidate A. Bogdanov for the Presidential Elections;
• 2012-2016, Member in a decision-making capacity of the territorial election commission of Zheleznodarozhnyi district, Samara city;
• Since 2000, the coordinator of citizen election observation.

Candidate for the post of election official in Chelyabinsk region

Yuri Albertovich Gurman

Photo: Yuri Gurman / from the archives of the movement ‘Golos’

Yuri Gurman has extensive experience in municipal work, as well as election official. Moreover, he is familiar with the election laws of the Russian Federation. He is an experienced election observer and longtime member in an advisory capacity of various district and territorial election commissions.

Twice he was elected to the municipal council by popular vote, there he held the office of chairman of the permanent commission on legal matters, local self-government, budget, taxes and property. For about five years he has served as the deputy head of Khomutinino rural municipality.

• Since 1999, he has been a director of the Association of rural municipalities and towns of Chelyabinsk region, taking part in the Congress of Municipalities of the Russian Federation. In 2003, he became a vice-president of the Association of rural settlements of the Russian Federation.
• In 2000, he initiated a lawsuit claiming the independent municipal budgeting to be the right of rural municipalities of Chelyabinsk region. Thus, in November 2003, the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation ruled the provisions of Chelyabinsk region Law on budgetary system and budgetary process were not in conformity with the Constitution of the Russian Federation.
• In 2006, he became a chairman of the Public Council Committee on local self-government of Chelyabinsk City Duma; until 2011, the expert of Chelyabinsk Commission on municipal grants for NGOs.
• 2006-2008, Member of the Public Chamber of Chelyabinsk region, deputy chairman of the Commission on the development of civil society and local self-government; Member of the Commission on communications, information policy and relations with media; Member of the Commission for public oversight over the law enforcement, the military and liaising with the judiciary.
• In 2007, he became a co-chairman of the Russian Club of Municipal Council Members of All-Russian Council of Local Self-Government.
• In 2008, he became a chairman of the regional branch of Russian non-governmental organization ‘National Human Rights Union ‘Man and Law’’.
• In 2010, the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation together with the All-Russian NGO ‘Russian Academy of Legal Sciences’ have announced the 100 best national human right defenders, where Yuri Albertovich Gurman was selected among the 20 best.

Initiator and the co-author of draft law ‘On the Commissioner for Human Rights in Chelyabinsk region’ of Chelyabinsk region. Since November 2010, the Assistant of Commissioner for Human Rights in Chelyabinsk region.

He filed an appeal to the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation claiming the provisions of the federal and regional laws stipulating the application of proportional electoral system in the rural areas were not in conformity with the Constitution of the Russian Federation. The Human Rights Ombudsman of the Russian Federation and the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation supported the appeal. Respectively, on 7 July 2011, the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation endorsed the claim.

• Since 2000, he is actively involved in the projects of the association advocating for voter rights ‘Golos’; since 2002, the head of the Chelyabinsk regional branch of ‘Golos’. In 2007, he was one of the founders of the Interregional Non-Governmental Foundation for Civil Society Development ‘Golos-Ural’, a chairman of the foundation. Since July 2013, he is a co-chairman of the citizen movement ‘Golos’ advocating for voter rights.
• 2001-2006, Member in an advisory capacity of different precinct and territorial election commissions in Chelyabinsk region.
• 1993-2012, he observed different elections visiting precinct and territorial election commissions.

Concerning international experience, he has observed the Elections to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (2002, 2007), Parliamentary Elections in Kazakhstan (2004), Presidential Elections in Ukraine (2004), Parliamentary Elections in Kyrgyzstan (2005), Presidential Elections in Kyrgyzstan (2005), Presidential Elections in Kazakhstan (2005), Parliamentary Elections in Norway (2009), Parliamentary Elections in Georgia (2013), Parliamentary Elections in Lithuania (2016), etc.

He was awarded a public welfare medal ‘Defender for Free Elections’.