Russian legislative election, 1993
Encyclopedia
Legislative elections were held in the Russian Federation
on 12 December 1993. At stake were the 450 seats in the State Duma
(Gosudarstvennaya Duma), the lower house
of the Federal Assembly of Russia
(The legislature
).
In order to nominate a list of candidates in the proportional representation ballot, a party or electoral organization had to gather 100,000 signatures from the electorate, of which no more than 15 per cent could be from any one region or republic. The method used to calculate the number of seats won by each party was the Hare method, with a threshold of 5.0 per cent of the valid vote, including votes cast against all, but excluding invalid ballots. To secure a place on a single-member district ballot, candidates had to gather the signatures of at least 1.0 percent of the constituency electorate. The winner in each single-member districts contest was simply the candidate with plurality of votes, regardless of the number of votes cast against all.
while the sensational first place with almost 23% of votes was taken by the populist
Liberal Democratic Party of Russia
.
The turnout at the polls was one of the lowest among Russia's general elections, with a quite high number of blank and invalid votes.
The use of the mixed system for the election of the Duma produced a large number of deputies which were unaffiliated with any electoral bloc. By joining other parliamentary groups or forming groups of independent deputies, they could significantly influence the balance of power in the Duma. Hence, the parliamentary groups in the first two-year term of the Duma showed lack of stability and its numbers may be given only with approximation.
Parliamentary groups in the Russian Duma, 1994-1995
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
on 12 December 1993. At stake were the 450 seats in the State Duma
State Duma
The State Duma , common abbreviation: Госду́ма ) in the Russian Federation is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia , the upper house being the Federation Council of Russia. The Duma headquarters is located in central Moscow, a few steps from Manege Square. Its members are referred to...
(Gosudarstvennaya Duma), the lower house
Lower house
A lower house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house.Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide the lower house has come to wield more power...
of the Federal Assembly of Russia
Federal Assembly of Russia
The Federal Assembly of Russia is the legislature of the Russian Federation, according to the Constitution of Russian Federation, 1993...
(The legislature
Legislature
A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...
).
Rules
The new election law adopted for the 1993 Duma election stipulated half the 450 Duma members were elected by a party-list system of proportional representation, and half were elected as individual representatives from single-member districts. Every Russian voter thus received two different ballots. The proportional representation ballot compelled each voter to endorse an electoral organization or vote against all of them. By contrast, the single-member district ballot required a voter to endorse an individual, whose party affiliation, if any, could not be given on the ballot.In order to nominate a list of candidates in the proportional representation ballot, a party or electoral organization had to gather 100,000 signatures from the electorate, of which no more than 15 per cent could be from any one region or republic. The method used to calculate the number of seats won by each party was the Hare method, with a threshold of 5.0 per cent of the valid vote, including votes cast against all, but excluding invalid ballots. To secure a place on a single-member district ballot, candidates had to gather the signatures of at least 1.0 percent of the constituency electorate. The winner in each single-member districts contest was simply the candidate with plurality of votes, regardless of the number of votes cast against all.
Background
The 1993 general election was taking place in the aftermath of the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis, a violent confrontation on the streets of Moscow which resulted in the dissolution of the previous Russian parliament by military force. Yeltsin hoped to resolve the political turmoil by decreeing for the election to the new Russian parliament and the constitutional referendum to take place on 12 December 1993.Outcome and aftermath
The results of the polls proved to be disappointing for the Kremlin: the two competing pro-government parties, Russia’s Democratic Choice and the Party of Russian Unity and Accord, gained 15.5 percent and 6.7 percent of the vote respectively and occupied 106 out of 450 seats in the State Duma. Neither party was able to control the parliamentary agenda nor impose the will of the president on the Duma. Lacking legislative success, both parties rapidly lost membership.while the sensational first place with almost 23% of votes was taken by the populist
Populism
Populism can be defined as an ideology, political philosophy, or type of discourse. Generally, a common theme compares "the people" against "the elite", and urges social and political system changes. It can also be defined as a rhetorical style employed by members of various political or social...
Liberal Democratic Party of Russia
Liberal Democratic Party of Russia
The Liberal Democratic Party of Russia , Liberal'no-Demokraticheskaya Partiya Rossii is a political party in Russia. Since its founding in 1991, it has been led by the charismatic and controversial figure Vladimir Zhirinovsky...
.
The turnout at the polls was one of the lowest among Russia's general elections, with a quite high number of blank and invalid votes.
Results
| Parties and coalitions | Party list votes | % | List seats | Single constituencies | Total seats | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal Democratic Party of Russia Liberal Democratic Party of Russia The Liberal Democratic Party of Russia , Liberal'no-Demokraticheskaya Partiya Rossii is a political party in Russia. Since its founding in 1991, it has been led by the charismatic and controversial figure Vladimir Zhirinovsky... |
12,318,562 | 22.92 | 59 | 5 | 64 | |
| Russia's Choice Democratic Choice of Russia The Democratic Choice of Russia was a Russian political party that existed from 1994 to 2001.-Background and Establishment:... |
8,339,345 | 15.51 | 40 | 24 | 64 | |
| Communist Party of the Russian Federation Communist Party of the Russian Federation The Communist Party of the Russian Federation is a Russian political party. It is the second major political party in the Russian Federation.-History:... |
6,666,402 | 12.40 | 32 | 10 | 42 | |
| Women of Russia | 4,369,918 | 8.13 | 21 | 0 | 21 | |
| Agrarian Party of Russia | 4,292,518 | 7.99 | 21 | 16 | 37 | |
| Yavlinsky-Boldyrev-Lukin Yabloko The Russian United Democratic Party "Yabloko" The Russian United Democratic Party "Yabloko" The Russian United Democratic Party "Yabloko" (Russian: Росси́йская объединённая демократи́ческая па́ртия «Я́блоко» Rossiyskaya obyedinyonnaya demokraticheskaya partiya "Yabloko"; is a Russian social... |
4,233,219 | 7.86 | 20 | 7 | 27 | |
| Party of Russian Unity and Accord | 3,620,035 | 6.73 | 18 | 4 | 22 | |
| Democratic Party of Russia Democratic Party of Russia The Democratic Party of Russia or DPR is a former Russian political party that existed between 1990 and 2008. It was founded by Nikolai Travkin. It initially featured Stanislav Govorukhin and Sergey Glazyev, was a prominent democratically-oriented party, member of the Democratic Russia coalition,... |
2,969,533 | 5.52 | 14 | 0 | 14 | |
| Russian Movement for Democratic Reforms (RDDR) | 2,191,505 | 4.08 | 0 | 5 | 5 | |
| Citizens' Union for Stability (Grazhdanskiy soyuz) | 1,038,193 | 1.93 | 0 | 10 | 10 | |
| "Future of Russia - New Names" | 672,283 | 1.25 | 0 | 2 | 2 | |
| Ecological Movement "Cedar" (Kedr) | 406,789 | 0.76 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| "Dignity and Charity" | 375,431 | 0.70 | 0 | 3 | 3 | |
| Independents | 130 | 130 | ||||
| Against all | 2,267,963 | 4.22 | ||||
| Invalid votes | 3,946,002 | 6.84 | ||||
| Total (turnout 54.81%) | 58,187,755 | 450 | ||||
| Registered voters | 106,170,835 | 100.00 | ||||
The use of the mixed system for the election of the Duma produced a large number of deputies which were unaffiliated with any electoral bloc. By joining other parliamentary groups or forming groups of independent deputies, they could significantly influence the balance of power in the Duma. Hence, the parliamentary groups in the first two-year term of the Duma showed lack of stability and its numbers may be given only with approximation.
Parliamentary groups in the Russian Duma, 1994-1995
| Parliamentary group | Leader | Seats | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal Democratic Party of Russia Liberal Democratic Party of Russia The Liberal Democratic Party of Russia , Liberal'no-Demokraticheskaya Partiya Rossii is a political party in Russia. Since its founding in 1991, it has been led by the charismatic and controversial figure Vladimir Zhirinovsky... |
Vladimir Zhirinovsky Vladimir Zhirinovsky Vladimir Volfovich Zhirinovsky is a Russian politician, colonel of the Russian Army, founder and the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia , Vice-Chairman of the State Duma, and a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.... |
53-64 | |
| Russia's Choice Democratic Choice of Russia The Democratic Choice of Russia was a Russian political party that existed from 1994 to 2001.-Background and Establishment:... |
Yegor Gaidar Yegor Gaidar Yegor Timurovich Gaidar was a Soviet and Russian economist, politician and author, and was the Acting Prime Minister of Russia from 15 June 1992 to 14 December 1992.... |
47-78 | |
| Communist Party of the Russian Federation Communist Party of the Russian Federation The Communist Party of the Russian Federation is a Russian political party. It is the second major political party in the Russian Federation.-History:... |
Gennady Zyuganov Gennady Zyuganov Gennady Andreyevich Zyuganov is a Russian politician, First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation , Chairman of the Union of Communist Parties - Communist Party of the Soviet Union , deputy of the State Duma , and a member of Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe... |
45-47 | |
| Women of Russia | Yekaterina Lakhova | 20-24 | |
| Agrarian Party of Russia | Mikhail Lapshin Mikhail Lapshin Mikhail Ivanovich Lapshin was the President of the Altai Republic in Russia from 2002 to 2006.Lapshin was born in Setovka, Altai Krai. He became President of the Altai Republic in January 2002. He defeated incumbent Semyon Zubakin in the December 2001 elections with 68% of the vote... |
50-55 | |
| Yabloko Yabloko The Russian United Democratic Party "Yabloko" The Russian United Democratic Party "Yabloko" The Russian United Democratic Party "Yabloko" (Russian: Росси́йская объединённая демократи́ческая па́ртия «Я́блоко» Rossiyskaya obyedinyonnaya demokraticheskaya partiya "Yabloko"; is a Russian social... |
Grigory Yavlinsky | 27-28 | |
| Party of Russia's Unity and Concord | Sergei Shakhrai Sergei Shakhrai Sergei Semenovich Shakhrai is a Russian retired pair skater. With partner Marina Cherkasova, he is the 1980 Olympic silver medalist, 1980 World champion, and 1979 European champion.- Career :... |
12-34 | |
| Democratic Party of Russia Democratic Party of Russia The Democratic Party of Russia or DPR is a former Russian political party that existed between 1990 and 2008. It was founded by Nikolai Travkin. It initially featured Stanislav Govorukhin and Sergey Glazyev, was a prominent democratically-oriented party, member of the Democratic Russia coalition,... |
Nikolay Travkin | 8-15 | |
| Liberal Democratic Union of 12 December | Irina Khakamada | 11-38 | |
| New Regional Politics - Duma-96 | V. Medvedev | 30-67 | |
| Russia | I. Shichalin | 34-38 | |
| Stability | A. Leushkin | 34-40 | |
| Russian Way (unregistered) | Sergei Baburin | 11-14 | |
| Strong State (Derzhava) (unregistered) | V. Kobelev | 4-5 | |