City Council members will review the case January 12, and experts predict the result will be to cancel direct election of the mayor. On December 29 last year, the local Office of the Prosecutor found violations of the procedures for voting and called for the amendment governing election of the mayor to be overturned.
The local prosecutor did not offer a basis for abolishing the system used in choosing a mayor, in effect putting the cart before the horse. In cases like this, the only cure for the ills of democracy is more democracy. Russia needs constitutional reform so that more people will be able to vote in direct elections. The heads of the four government branches shall be chosen in direct elections, and candidates shall be given free media time and space to air their views. See the Charter for Permanent Peace and Development.
