#9 - JRL 2006-272 - JRL Home
United Russia Proposes Direct Elections To Federation Council

YEKATERINBURG. Dec 2 (Interfax) - A bill introducing direct elections of Russian Federation Council members should be passed at the next State Duma plenary session, United Russia Supreme Council Co- Chairman and Emergency Situations Minister Sergei Shoigu said.

"I suggest that this bill proposed by Federation Council Chairman Sergei Mironov should be passed at the next plenary session at three readings so that the entire nation can elect senators as early as next March's elections," Shoigu said at a United Russia congress in Yekaterinburg on Saturday.

The proposal drew enthusiastic applause, and the party's leader and State Duma chairman, Boris Gryzlov, replied, "A wonderful proposal I think we will work on this."

"I suggest that man should be in the focus of the party's work," Shoigu said.

"If we treat man as the highest priority, they we will both win in December (2007, in the State Duma elections) and will ensure the long- term continuity of presidential policy," Shoigu said.

He suggested that the heads of the regions meet with the common people more often and that his fellow party members wisely cooperate with the media.

"We should be open to society and should understand that questions asked by a journalist are questions asked by thousands of citizens of this country, and they can't be left without attention or without a response," he said.

"Our cooperation with the media should be planned wisely. We should be open and considerate to public. State-run, private, foreign, printed, and electronic media outlets should know about the party's work and about our plans, views, results, and also, unfortunately, about our failures," he said.

Counting the party's achievements in the five years of its existence, Shoigu mentioned the fact that it has won in 58 out of 60 election campaigns.