The number of deputies in Transnistria will be reduced. Why is this necessary?
In Transnistria the number of deputy corps will be reduced. According to the law signed by President Vadim Krasnoselsky, the number of seats both in the Supreme Council and single-mandate constituencies will decrease from 43 to 33. There will be approximately 20% fewer deputies in local councils.
The adopted amendments to the Constitution, the Electoral Code and the Rules of the Supreme Council of Pridnestrovie will apply to the new composition of the deputy corps, which will be elected in the elections on a single voting day on November 29, 2020.
The parliament of the republic will be reduced by almost half since it was popularly elected for the first time. The Supreme Council of the PMR of the first convocation, formed in November 1990, shortly after the proclamation of the Transnistrian Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic, consisted of 64 deputies elected from electoral districts with approximately equal population sizes. The parliament of the second convocation (1995) was bicameral and consisted of 67 people's representatives - the House of Legislators included 32, the House of Representatives - 35 deputies.
From the third convocation (2000), after changing the Constitution, the Supreme Council became unicameral again, its number was 43 people. In accordance with the regulations, parliamentarians, at their request, could work on a permanent professional basis or exercise parliamentary powers without ceasing their main work activity. In the fourth (2005), fifth (2010) and current, sixth (2015) convocations, no major changes were made to the structure and work of parliament.
The current amendments to the legislation were initiated by a large group of parliamentarians - members of the only faction in the Supreme Council “Renewal” and its supporters. At the plenary sessions, this generally burning topic was discussed sparingly; there were no ardent opponents of the amendments.
It is difficult to imagine that such a situation could have occurred in the Transnistrian parliament during the presidency of Igor Smirnov or Yevgeny Shevchuk. At that time, proposals to reduce the number of parliamentarians were submitted to the Supreme Council more than once, but were always rejected after heated discussions. For example, in 2011, an amendment to reduce the number of deputies from 43 to 35 was not passed. It was contained in a bill developed on the basis of proposals from the Constitutional Commission, which consisted of representatives of all branches of government. The Supreme Council then considered that a decrease in the number of deputies would entail a territorial increase in electoral districts and a corresponding increase in the load on each deputy, and this would make it difficult to fulfill deputy duties.
Today in parliament they say that the reduction of the deputy corps is completely justified. Firstly, due to a decrease in population. A figure is given: currently, the total number of deputy corps (rural, city, district councils and the Supreme Council) in small Transnistria is too large - 1155 people.
Secondly, legislators note, the reduction is necessary to optimize the work of councils at all levels and reduce budget expenses, in particular, for holding elections. Vice-Speaker Galina Antyufeyeva reassured voters, saying that even in the new composition, when the rate of representation for the election of deputies increases and the electoral districts become larger, the councils will hear all citizens without exception.
The parliamentarians say they are setting a good example for other authorities and are calling on them to cut back too. Deputy Andrei Safonov, who is active on social networks, wrote on his Facebook page that it would also be reasonable to reform the government of Transnistria.
“Since the legislative branch is being reformed with a reduction in the number of deputies of the Supreme Council of the PMR, it is reasonable to extend this approach to the executive branch. Of course, everything needs to be discussed specifically in both quantitative and qualitative aspects. But in order to save money, the issue of reducing the number of ministries and departments can be explored. And, of course, staffing positions, wherever possible without compromising the business,” Safonov believes.
By the way, the government itself does not think so. Before the close of the spring session, Pridnestrovian Prime Minister Alexander Martynov, speaking with his annual report to the Supreme Council, answered the question of deputies about whether the government should be reduced (there are two dozen ministries and civil services in the republic, seven state administrations of cities and districts). The prime minister said that there is no reserve for savings here and that “government expenses in Transnistria amount to only 2% of GDP.” The executive branch is not even thinking about shrinking. On the contrary, new departments are emerging. For example, in 2019, as part of a targeted program for developing the tourist attractiveness of Pridnestrovie, a state tourism agency will be created.
What is behind the decision to reduce the deputy corps?
Former deputy of the Supreme Council, head of the Tiraspol School of Political Studies Anatoly Dirun believes that the current reform does not lead to any optimization of the work of parliament - it has completely different goals.
“The problem is that in the absence of political competition, a mechanism for the development and support of political parties in Pridnestrovie, and the removal of the turnout threshold for elections, such a decision turns the Supreme Council into a kind of technical, insignificant advisory body. Elections turn into the appointment of deputies. And, in fact, the decision to reduce their number has nothing to do with saving money,” the expert believes.
Here it is necessary to clarify that in the summer of 2018, amendments were adopted to the PMR Election Code to abolish the 25 percent turnout threshold for elections at all levels - local, parliamentary and presidential. But this issue has always been very sensitive for Pridnestrovian politics - in conditions of international unrecognition, the establishment of a turnout threshold for elections was seen as an additional tool that strengthens the legitimacy of government institutions. The “against all” option remains on the ballot for now.
As for the reduction of local councils, Anatoly Dirun said that here too an “unprofessional decision” was made. He recalled that in unrecognized Transnistria “statehood is based on “internal legitimacy”, based precisely on the Councils of People's Deputies, from village to city.”
“The statehood of Transnistria was proclaimed on September 2, 1990 at the second congress of deputies of all levels. It is the Councils of People's Deputies that are the basis of Pridnestrovian statehood. And the extent to which the authorities are able to effectively implement their initiatives will depend on how broad we have representation in villages and districts,” the expert notes.
Deputy Director of the Institute of Socio-Political Research and Regional Development Andrei Mospanov, commenting on the reform to PolitNavigator, noted that since 1990, the population of Transnistria has decreased by approximately half - according to various estimates, today there are constantly from 360 to 400 thousand people in the republic. If we take this fact into account, then the reduction in the number of deputies of both the Supreme and local councils seems logical to the expert.
“Reducing the size of the republic’s parliament to 33 deputies, in general, will make it possible to maintain the norm of representation. It should also be agreed that the Transnistrian parliament has set a good example of optimization for other authorities of the republic, in particular, the government. The structure of executive authorities, consisting of a total of 20 ministries and departments, is a lot for a state like the PMR,” says Andrey Mospanov.
At the same time, he noted, the reduction in the number of deputies of the Supreme Council will lead to the consolidation of single-mandate constituencies and to the fact that seats in parliament will become very difficult to obtain.
“Under the conditions of a majoritarian system of relative majority, with the virtual absence of political parties and competing political ideologies in the PMR, this will mean that almost only those associated with local big capital will have the opportunity to become members of parliament. The starting positions of such candidates will become even more preferable,” the expert concluded.
If you find an error, please select a piece of text and press Ctrl + Enter.
Thank you!
Now the editors are aware.