CEC head backs parliamentary majority-based Cabinet

Alexander Veshnyakov, head of the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) of the Russian Federation, has said the proposition to form the Cabinet on the basis of parliamentary majority is "perfectly logical." "This is perfectly logical," Veshnyakov told reporters in comments on President Vladimir Putin's remarks about the possibility of creating this kind of Cabinet.

In his annual state-of-the-nation address to Russia's Federal Assembly, or parliament, Monday, Putin said, "Taking into account the results of the coming elections, one possibility is to form a professional, efficient Cabinet supported by a parliamentary majority." But the CEC chief reckons, "The realisation of the idea does not depend on the President alone." In his opinion, "what is needed is a real parliamentary majority." What's more, he feels, whether the idea actually comes into being "depends on the results of the elections and on the forces that win." Veshnyakov fielded the question of whether a Cabinet based on a parliamentary majority could be formed already after the December elections to the State Duma, or lower house of parliament. However, he made it plain it was a possibility.

And he believes the case the President made in his message for the necessity of making party-political life more transparent is realisable too. The CEC is already working together with, and intends to carry on working with, everyone interested in making sure the "dirty technologies" become a thing of the past. These were primarily the public, he said.

He reckons that one way to create more financial transparency is by enforcing the legislation already in effect and working together with the tax service. "What is important is for the parties to stop hoping they can get away with financial wrongdoing," the CEC chief underscored, noting that the legislation was enabling enough.